My Boys: Bright Future
by Jordan202
Summary: Following up Owen and Amelia's married lives, they found themselves realizing that juggling busy careers and raising a family is much harder than they'd initially thought. Omelia all the way. OCs included.
1. Chapter 1

**My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 1**

"You're an idiot."

Amelia heard Thomas's voice coming from the kitchen as she folded clean linens in the adjoined laundry room.

"You're actually trying to school me on girls," She heard Lucas replying, also from the kitchen. "Just wait and you'll see."

"I can't believe you invited Kate to homecoming" Thomas nodded in disapproval.

"Not yet," Lucas confessed proudly, opening the fridge and picking a bottle of water "I will. But today I told her it looks like she gained a few pounds over the summer. That should do the trick."

Thomas stared at Lucas, frowning. Sometimes he had no idea what kind of things made sense in his older brother's mind.

Seeing the confusion in Thomas' eyes, Lucas explained:

"You see, she's used to being told how pretty and amazing and smart she is. Every guy is always drooling over her and feeding her ego. She has no idea why I think differently and it'll drive her crazy. It won't take long before she comes to me trying to please me so that'll change my impression about her. And then she will invite me."

"You're an idiot." Thomas repeated, with more assurance this time "This cruel mind game of yours might have worked with any other girl, but not Kate. She respects herself too much to fall for the words of someone like you."

"Yeah, yeah… " Lucas gave his brother a smug smile. "Girls are all the same. They don't wanna be told they're beautiful," He added, accidentally spilling water on the floor and cleaning it with his socks before his mother could see it.

"Well, I disagree." Thomas affirmed, closing his textbook. He had been using the kitchen table as a work station to read for the last two hours.

"And that is why you've never launched your missile," Lucas teased, playfully throwing the empty bottle at his brother. Thomas looked up with fire in his eyes but Lucas wasn't intimidated and continued his speech "You've been with Missy for what? Like three months, now? And you still haven't sealed the deal."

"I actually like this girl," Thomas replied, very seriously "And she means something to me, I respect her and I can wait until she is ready." His face turned into a heavy frown, "I don't treat girls like they're disposable. Perhaps you should start doing the same."

"Maybe you should become president of the celibacy club," Lucas said, peeking at his brother's work "You will fit right in."

Amelia chose that moment to enter the kitchen, surprising both boys. She took a good look at Lucas, reprimanding him with her eyes.

Her seventeen year old son had just gotten home from practice and had on only training shorts and socks, his muddy soccer shoes left in a corner of the kitchen. A sweaty shirt was hanging on one of his shoulders and his usually spiky short blond hair was now sparkling with sweat.

"Lucas, look at the mess you're making. Is that a dirty towel on the counter?!" Amelia looked at him disapprovingly. "Go upstairs to take a shower, now!"

Lucas quickly obliged, dodging his mother's reach before she could hit him with the dirty towel. Amelia smiled as her oldest son hurried upstairs. Despite being already only an inch shorter than Owen, Lucas was like a big kid in the body of a young man. His liveliness and constant smiles were refreshing and intoxicating, and he could flirt his way out of everything, so Amelia knew exactly why she had to keep a close eye on the troublemaker.

"I didn't know you were there," Thomas finished gathering his books and notepads, clearing the kitchen table "Do you need help with those?" He pointed at the laundry.

"Oh, I do, thank you, baby," Amelia passed the large pile of folded towels to his hands and gave him a kiss on the head "Take those to my bedroom, please and I'll put them in the closet later. I'll just start dinner because after two weeks of being away I am sure dad won't be up for takeout."

Thomas took the kitchen stairs to the second floor and quickly disappeared into the corridor. Amelia was taking out ingredients from the cabinet when she was startled by two voices yelling at the same time.

"Mom! Robbie crashed the iPad screen and now he is trying to blame it on me!"

Megan entered the kitchen in a hurry, quickly followed by Robbie.

"It was her who broke it, mom, I was trying to get it and she pulled it back! Then the iPad crashed and it's her fault." Robbie defended himself, walking around in circles around his mother with his younger sister.

Amelia took a deep breath before turning around to face them. She really didn't like those moments.

"It's Wednesday night and you both know _none_ of you are suppose to use gadgets during weekdays. I don't care who broke it, you're both getting a fine out of your monthly allowances to cover the damage. I'll be upstairs in thirty minutes and I swear to God if any of you don't have their homework done, you'll be grounded for a month."

Seeing the wrath in their mother's eyes, both Megan and Robbie took a step back.

"You're on the clock. One, two…"

Both kids rushed upstairs to make sure their homework was done in time. They all knew their mother didn't make threats she didn't intend to keep.

Amelia turned on the kitchen radio and hummed to a familiar song while she chopped lettuce and filled a salad bowl. She was almost done with dinner when she heard a car pulling up in front of the house and the familiar noise of the front door opening. She turned around, only to see her husband entering the kitchen.

Owen dropped his luggage on his way in and took off his coat, shrugging off the droplets of rain from his hair. He couldn't describe how happy he felt to finally be back home.

"Hey, you've already started dinner." He noticed, smiling broadly. "Hi," Owen approached her, feeling Amelia promptly wrapping her arms around his neck "How've you been?"

"Missing you," Amelia's smile reached her eyes when she looked at him "How was your flight?" She asked, without letting go of his neck.

Owen involved her waist with his arms, watching as she stood on the tips of her toes to reach his lips with hers.

"It was okay," He said, receiving a kiss and then a tight hug "I missed you too," He added when his face was already buried in the curve of her neck.

"I'm glad it didn't get delayed, the weather is not looking good" She finally pulled apart, watching as Owen went to wash his hands.

"Me too." He smiled at her, stepping up to help with the food. "Where are the kids?"

Amelia folded her arms and looked at him, looking serious.

"Owen, we have to talk about Luke."

"What is he up to this time?" Owen rolled his eyes impatiently, knowing their teenage son was always getting himself into trouble. "Did the school call again?"

"No," Amelia chuckled at Owen who was always frustrated by Lucas' erratic behavior "I heard him talking to Tom earlier today. Did you know he told a girl she had gained weight as a way to convince her to go to prom with him? Where does he learn that kind of stuff? We don't teach him that."

Owen laughed at Lucas' predicament. He had a good heart but he was always in over his head when it came to girls.

"I'll talk to him," Owen promised.

"You know what, let me. I'll talk to him this time," Amelia decided, thinking it might be good if the advice came from a woman's point of view. "I hope this girl turns him down, honestly. He needs to learn a lesson."

.

"Danny, can you turn off the oven for me, please?" Owen asked the twin to his right. He watched as the boy did as asked, feeling relieved to finally be back home.

He had spent the last two weeks in Dallas, overseeing a training course for deploying surgeons. Ever since he had started doing it, years before, the Army had summoned him to the task more often, which meant that a few times a year he had to travel for a couple of weeks.

But even though he loved that job, his favorite part of the process was always coming home to his family. With his and Amelia's busy schedule, it wasn't always that they could sit together with their five children to share something as simple as family dinner. Which was why Owen deeply enjoyed every chance they had.

"Hey, dad, they said your name on the local news today!" Lucas excitedly said as he picked up the plates to help set the dinner table.

Everyone in the kitchen immediately stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes to Lucas.

"Since when do you watch the news?" Thomas asked the question that was in everyone's minds.

"I like to know what's going on in the world, I'm a cultured guy," Lucas replied in an outraged tone, looking extremely offended by his brother's question. But when six pair of eyes kept looking at him with disbelief, he dropped the act, "I was waiting for football news," He admitted with a charming smile. "Anyways, dad, you sounded very important when they were describing you as the local hero of the city hospital, training our troops and all that."

"Thank you, buddy," Owen chuckled, taking the chicken from the oven.

"I guess this is becoming a pretty good week for Team Hunt, huh," Lucas went on with his excited chatter. "Copy and Paste are about to get a blue belt in Judo," Everyone knew he was talking about the twins. Then he turned his eyes to his sister, "Disney Channel has just announced a new season of Girl Meets World, I scored a goal that took us to semi finals," Lucas recited, using his fingers to keep count, "And Draco Malfoy here probably aced a math test or something," He teased, obviously making fun of Thomas' slicked back blonde hair. "That leaves you, mom." Lucas smiled adoringly at her "Did you win any awards this week? Wake anyone from a coma?"

"Very funny, Luke." Amelia replied, unable to contain her smile as Owen and her other children laughed too. She was just about to reply when she heard the loud sound of the doorbell. Seeing Robbie was already making his way to the living room, she added "Don't worry, babe, I got it."

Amelia opened the front door, wondering who in the world could be ringing their doorbell on an average weeknight in the middle of the rain. She was surprised to find a teenage girl who was no more than sixteen or seventeen years old standing on her porch.

"Yes?" Amelia said, trying to sound attentive "May I help you?"

"Is this where Lucas Hunt lives?" The girl straightforward asked.

Amelia noticed she was a very pretty teenage girl, with dark skin, curly hair and beautiful features. She was obviously well dressed and had a very classy appearance, despite carrying a cardboard box.

"Yes, do you want to come in or…?"

"No," The girl interrupted her, obviously working hard to contain her anger "If you could just give him this," She practically shoved the box against Amelia's arms, "and do me the favor to tell him that Alice passed by," She looked at Amelia with hatred in her eyes "I'd be really grateful."

"Of course," Amelia replied, watching as the girl stormed out.

"One more thing," The teenage girl turned around as she was about to get on the sidewalk "You can also tell him I hope he rots in hell."

With those words, she left, leaving Amelia intrigued and motionless on the front porch. When she started to freeze because of the cold wind, Amelia went back inside, closing the door after her.

"Lucas, a girl named Alice just left this for you," Amelia dropped the box on his lap, noticing it had some clothes and what looked like a paper notebook.

Lucas' eyes widened at the sight of the content. He noticed his mother was visibly annoyed and demanding an explanation with her eyes.

"You got me my Sounders jacket back, mom! Thanks!" He tried to avoid that conversation, taking the object from the box in his usual sneaky manner.

"Lucas," Owen interrupted him, seeing how his son was visibly avoiding the subject. "Care to explain?"

Lucas noticed once again that his four siblings and two parents had stopped what they were doing and had all eyes on him.

"I think," He said, very calmly, "that Alice isn't very happy with me."

"That's become obvious," Amelia took her seat at the table. "The question is, why?"

Lucas shrugged and focused on cutting his chicken. He had gone out with the girl a few times but earlier that day in school she'd given him an ultimatum about going steady, which Lucas didn't take. He imagined that was the source of her anger.

"I don't know, mom, one minute they say they love me and in the next they throw stuff at my face," He looked around, smiling seductively "I am heartbroken."

The lie was so flagrant in his eyes that Robbie and Danny couldn't contain their laughter.

"Aren't you a smartass," Owen said with discontent. "I think you are spending too much time focusing on getting your heart broken instead of improving your grades. I'll tell you what," By the tone his dad was using, Lucas knew his next words wouldn't be good "I think you'll _voluntarily_ give up your allowance this month to focus more on your school classes," Owen stated, ironically. "Maybe if you spend more time with your books instead of your dates, you can mend your heart _and_ get better grades. Isn't that a win-win?"

Lucas knew his father was on purpose using the same tactic as him: trying to sugarcoat a situation to make it look better.

"Dad…" Lucas moaned in protest. "Am I really going broke this month?"

"Eat your dinner, Luke." Owen said, ending the discussion. He wanted to laugh at Lucas' sad predicament, but he knew his son had yet a lot to learn about taking responsibility for his actions instead of going through life like he had nothing to worry about.

.

A few hours later, Amelia turned off the lights on the bottom floor of the house and made her way upstairs. Megan was fast asleep in her bed, and with a smile, Amelia turned off her TV and closed the door after she left. Robbie and Danny were still awake, talking in their secret language no one but them understood. She approached them and kissed each one good night, telling them to go to sleep. As she made her way through the hall, intending to go to Lucas' room, she noticed the light coming from Thomas' and knocked twice before going inside.

"Hey," She greeted him with a whisper, sitting on the edge of his bed "What are you doing?" She asked, noticing the computer in his hands.

"Just catching up on some applications before bed," Thomas smiled at her. "I can't sleep. Too much on my mind." He explained.

"Do you have a test?"

"Yeah, tomorrow."

"I am sure you will ace it," Amelia affirmed, taking out the notebook from his hands against his will "Go to sleep, Tommy. You'll do fine," She assured him.

"Yeah, that's not what I'm worried about," Thomas confessed.

"What is it?" Amelia looked deeply into his eyes. Thomas looked a lot like her, with a slim face and delicate features. Except for the eyes. He had Owen's baby blue eyes. "Is it Missy?"

By the tone on his mom's voice, Thomas could identify the disapproval. He chuckled, knowing his mother couldn't hide the fact she didn't like his girlfriend one bit.

"Is it just me or were you kind of hoping it were?" Thomas had fun with his mother's complete inability of pretending something she didn't feel.

"I want you to be happy," Amelia dodged his question, making an effort not to talk about Thomas's high school sweetheart, or she wouldn't be able to stop. She thought the girl was a bad influence on Thomas and she didn't care to hide it.

"It's not about Missy," Thomas replied, seeing how she nearly rolled her eyes. He gave her a sheepish smile before adding, "It's Harvard."

"What?!" Amelia smiled excitedly when she saw the sparkle in his eyes, "Tom!"

Amelia knew Thomas' ultimate goal was to one day go study at the most prestigious University in the world. At sixteen, Thomas was a careful thinker, planning ahead everything and setting incredibly high standards for himself. He was only in his junior year at the best private school in Seattle and already he was the most guaranteed student to get into any University he wanted.

"Our Principal got emailed a list from the faculty today," Thomas confessed with a knowing smile. "He said my name is on it."

"That's great news!" Amelia wasn't surprised, but she was happy at the same time. "Why didn't you say anything before? Dad will be thrilled to hear this! We could have celebrated over dinner."

"It's not a sure thing yet, mom." Thomas was contaminated by her effusive joy.

"No matter what happens, I'm always proud of you," Amelia leaned over and gave Thomas a kiss on the forehead. Thomas was always creating big expectations for himself and being an overachiever, he had never failed before. But Amelia knew that one day he probably would, and she wasn't sure he'd able to deal with failure, never before being familiar with it. "You know that, right? Dad and I are proud no matter which University you end up going to."

"I know," Thomas said with simplicity. "But… Harvard." He smiled at her, seeing in his mom's eyes that she approved of his choice completely. After all, both she and his dad had attended it and they would be thrilled to have their son going there.

"You get some sleep now," Amelia got up and walked towards the door. "Good luck on that test tomorrow."

She closed the door after her and then went to the last room on the corridor, gently knocking on the door before opening it.

"Still up?" She stated the obvious, seeing shirtless Lucas lazily resting on the bed against some pillows, typing on his cell phone. His room was the messiest of the house, with several shelves filled with medals and trophies.

"Yeah, the guys in the soccer team won't shut up about the semi finals, we are really hoping for a win on Saturday," Lucas cheerfully smiled at her.

"Luke, can we talk?" Amelia took the cell phone from his hand and placed it on the nightstand, letting him know she wasn't really asking.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" He frowned at her.

"What look?"

"That look you have when you're about to tell us you're going out of town for work," He tried to explain "You know, when you're about to do something you really don't want to."

"I want to ask you if something is happening," Amelia thoughtfully said. Lucas had always been a happy, cheerful kid, but she noticed that lately he had been acting out a little more than usual.

"Nothing is happening, mom." Lucas said, keeping his frown.

"I'm asking because tonight I had to deal with a very passive aggressive girl who was clearly very angry at you." Amelia added, trying to be as clear as possible. "And earlier today, I heard you speaking to your brother about a girl in a way I didn't like one bit. What is going on?"

"Mom, nothing is going on." Lucas insisted.

"Lucas?" Amelia raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, you know what, I'm sick of people treating me like I am the bad guy," Lucas ranted, visibly angry. "They are always playing the victim card when, in fact, it wasn't like I broke any promises because I am very clear from the start about what my intentions are," He said, with honesty. "Everyone thinks they can be pissed at me when I wasn't the one who had the expectations," Lucas added and in that comment Amelia knew he meant more than just the girls he dated.

"What are you so angry about?" She calmly asked, even though she was worried about him. It was obvious something was wrong.

"I am not angry, mom." Lucas lied. "I am just tired of always taking the blame for everything."

"It's called having responsibility," Amelia said, in a matter-of-fact tone. She took one step in his direction and involved him in her arms like he was still that five year old boy who loved to bounce around, because deep down, she knew that was still who he was "You sure there is nothing you want to talk about?" She asked, kissing his head affectionately.

"Of course I do," He smiled teasingly at her "But I don't think you'll want to discuss soccer tactics with me."

"Go to sleep, Luke," She playfully squeezed his nose before telling him to put the cell phone down again, closing the door after her.

.

"What?" Owen came out of the shower, noticing the frown on his wife's face. She was already lying on their bed, looking as beautiful and inviting as always. He had insanely missed her in those last two weeks.

"I think Luke is up to something," Amelia confessed. "I don't know, something is not right."

"Luke is always up to something," Owen reminded her, turning off the lights in their room to get in bed with her.

"Yeah, but this time it's different… I can't explain why, it just feels like there's some anger underneath it all. He is always clumsy and clueless, but this time around it seems like he is more insecure."

Lucas had been diagnosed with a grave case of dyslexia when he was six years old and had struggled in school all his life. Even though he was an excellent athlete, being the reference captain of the soccer team, his grades were below average and he was academically unmotivated. The fact that he had grown up with Thomas, who excelled in school, had only added to his low self esteem when it came to school matters.

"You saw his report card from last year, nothing unusual about it," Owen reminded her. "And school has just started, babe. There is no way he could have gotten into trouble this fast."

"Oh, you should have known better by now not to underestimate his capability of getting himself into trouble…" Amelia sighed, impatiently. "I'm going to keep a close eye on him and get to the bottom of this."

"Speaking of bottom," Owen rolled over on top of her, closing his hands on her buttocks "We have a very serious topic to get to."

"Oh yeah?" Amelia saw the clear intention in his eyes and played along, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders.

Owen replied with a kiss, crushing her lips with his. His hungry tongue made its way into her mouth, trying to make up for two weeks of missing her.

"You're reporting for duty?" She playfully captured his lower lip between hers, feeling him hard against her thigh.

"You bet I am," Owen smiled against her lips, running his hands through her body to get her rid of her clothes.

"Good," Amelia said, feeling him kissing the skin of her neck when she was already naked in his arms "Because I need you fully prepared."

"For you, I always am," Owen said and to prevent that she made that conversation any longer, he hungrily kissed her until he vanished every single thought from Amelia's mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, everyone, thank you all so much for your words of support. It's great to get reviews and I am happy you seem to be enjoying this story. I would love to hear more feedback. Here goes:

.

 **My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 2**

Amelia juggled preparing breakfast while she checked in for her flight later that morning. She was going to Vancouver as a guest, to lecture residents and fellows on her latest described surgery technique, the ASH method, which had granted her the prestigious Harper-Avery Award two years before.

Her career was taking off like she had never imagined, and Amelia wasn't sure what was more exhausting: running a house with five kids, or traveling back and forth to give lectures, participate in seminars and speak in conferences. But right at that moment, cooking breakfast was her most latent problem.

"Hey, mom." Megan came running down the stairs, fully dressed in her school uniform. "Can I sleep over at Claire's tonight?"

Amelia distractedly checked her phone while trying to scramble eggs.

"Sure, honey."

"Awesome, thanks!" Megan took a seat on one of the counter stools.

"Mom!" One of the twins approached Amelia from behind, heedlessly scaring her."You're still taking me tonight, right?"

Amelia put her phone down and looked puzzled at Danny, wondering what in the world he was talking about.

"Mom!" The boy protested. "It's my date with Sarah!" He reminded her. "I've been waiting all week for this! You spoke to her mom on the phone?" The boy tried to remind her.

"Of course," Amelia finally realized what he was talking about. She had completely forgotten about it and her son looked deeply offended. "Ok honey, I'm flying to Vancouver in a few but I'll make it back in time to take you two, ok?" She assured him, seeing the look of satisfaction on his face.

"Big date?" Thomas asked with a smile as he came down the stairs, dropping his school bag and books on the counter.

"You bet," Danny replied, with pride.

Everyone knew this was his first date because his siblings hadn't shut up about it all week, giving him a hard time during every meal. Amelia had called the girl's mom to set up a time she could go pick up Sarah and drive both kids to the movies that Friday after school.

"Danny and Sarah, under a tree…" Megan started, making her brother blush. "K-I-S-S…"

"Okay, I know you can spell," The thirteen year old refuted, seeing his little sister openly mock him.

"Guys, cut it off," Amelia intervened with a smile, watching as each of them started their breakfasts. "Where is everyone?"

Just as Amelia asked the question, she saw Owen and Robbie getting downstairs. Minutes later, Lucas came rushing too, as usual running late.

Amelia said goodbye and watched as Owen left with the five kids, wondering if she would ever make it to the airport without the risk of losing her flight.

.

Later that day, Thomas left literature class, watching as Matt checked if they hadn't left anything behind.

Matt Robbins was one of Thomas' closest friends since they both had been five years old. Their parents worked together at the hospital and Matt had always been in Thomas' class in school.

"Is Missy going to join us for lunch?" Matt asked, making his way through the mass of students that left their classrooms towards the cafeteria.

"She is having a meeting with the organizing committee about the dance," Thomas explained.

"Geez, sounds like her mom," Matt rolled his eyes and took a seat at one of the central tables in the big lounge. "Hey, did you do your calculus homework? I kind of need to copy it."

Thomas didn't reply because he wasn't paying any attention anymore. With the corner of his eye, he spotted Joe Avery walking side by side with Katherine Karev.

"Kate!" Matt changed his focus when he noticed their other two friends approaching and taking a seat at the table "Did you do your math homework?"

"You want to copy it?" Kate asked in her usual practical manner, already handing her notebook to Matt. All three boys knew she could predict every movement they would make, and she was very good at getting ahead of them.

"Where's Missy?" Joey distractedly asked while eating from his tray, watching as his friends did the same.

"Homecoming dance," Thomas explained, avoiding looking in their direction. He was happy when Matt started to inquiry Kate about math, because that would make the atmosphere less awkward.

And God, Thomas knew how awkward it could be sometimes.

Much to his dismay, minutes later he saw his oldest brother running in their direction and summoning Matt and Joey, who were in the school soccer team, to join him on the table where the players were gathered, discussing tactics for their game the following day.

Thomas found himself sitting alone with Kate and he felt the atmosphere suddenly getting dense again.

"So…" Kate started and Thomas could swear he'd heard some bitterness in her voice "Are you sure you're allowed to sit here with me?"

For the first time, Thomas made eye contact with her.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, trying not to show how her ironic question had infuriated him.

"I wasn't sure if you'd asked for your girlfriend's permission," Kate bluntly said.

"I don't need her permission," Thomas replied, in his usual calm and controlled manner, but deeply irritated on the inside.

Kate tried to not sarcastically laugh. It was sad how Missy had Thomas wrapped around her little finger, making him get more distant from his friends every day. She sat silently beside him for some long seconds, feeling how thick the air seemed to be. When Kate was sure Thomas would make up some sad excuse and leave, as he'd been doing for the past three months, she heard him comment:

"I heard my brother invited you to the dance." Thomas didn't realize he was trying to sound neutral and indifferent.

"He did," Kate said, unaffected. Both she and Lucas knew he hadn't been serious. Kate had known the Hunt brothers pretty much ever since she'd been born, and if there was one thing she was sure of was that Lucas Hunt was definitely not to be taken seriously. "He'll ask out anyone who has a pair of boobs."

"Then he should ask Mr. Reynolds," Thomas added, referring to their physics professor. "He fits the criteria."

He saw Kate's face lighting up with a smile as the sound of her musical laughter filled the air, making him laugh too. He'd forgotten how easy it was to talk to her. Kate Karev had been Thomas' best friend ever since they were little kids. The two of them, Matt and Joey had grown up together, both in and outside school. Thomas was very close to both boys, but he had always felt like he and Kate shared a special connection.

He could vividly remember Kate being there in pretty much every moment of his childhood. Thomas had lost his first tooth after hitting his mouth on the door handle while chasing after her in her house. It had been Kate who had called his mom that one time Tom had thrown up all over his history paper in fourth grade.

When he'd turned ten, Kate had blown his birthday candles on purpose, just to tease him. She had worn his school suit many times over her own, because she was often cold. And it had always felt very natural to the two of them that a boy and a girl could grow up being best friends.

Thomas remembered Kate being on the bleachers on his first competitive tennis match. And he remembered attending every single one of her yearly piano recitals. She was the only one who would compete with him for best student in class, and every day she made sure he knew it. Kate had stolen his favorite books, written him letters from her summer camps, bought him chocolate chip cupcakes because she knew they were his favorite. And every year, she would call Thomas on September 18th at exactly midnight just to be the first one to wish him happy birthday.

They had always been the best of friends.

Until one day, they weren't anymore.

At that moment, Thomas could swear he could no longer recognize what they were. Kate felt older, more mature and she wasn't as easygoing and fun like she used to be. Instead, ever since Thomas had started dating Missy, he'd distanced himself from Kate, because truth was, it felt weird to be so intimate to her when he was in love with someone else.

"Are you going to the game tomorrow?" Kate asked, hopeful. She didn't remember sharing a moment like this with Thomas for a long time and she had missed him more than she would care to admit.

"I don't know," Thomas replied. "Missy's father invited me to his yacht club sail."

"But it's your brother's game!" Kate was obviously outraged at him. "It's the semi finals, Thomas. You never miss your brother's games."

"He has too many games," Thomas justified. "I've seen him win everything there is to win already. I can't dedicate every weekend to him."

"Because now you have a girlfriend," Kate added what had been left unsaid.

Thomas took his eyes away from her and concentrated on what was left on his tray.

"You're unbelievable…" Kate shook her head in disapproval and got up, carrying her tray. "You know what?" She turned around, hesitantly. "I hope you have a lot of fun with the people you don't know and who mean nothing to you on that yacht sail." She added bitterly, before walking away.

Thomas watched as she left, unable to take his eyes off her back. Soon after, Missy approached him, happy to find him alone and available to herself. Thomas was visibly upset, but Missy started her usual chatter about her favorite subject- herself- making Thomas once again shove his feelings somewhere deep inside him to concentrate on hers entirely.

.

Owen heard his phone insistently ringing and picked it up, seeing on the screen that it was his wife who was calling.

"Hey," He greeted her. "Are you back from Canada?"

'Yeah," Amelia's voice sounded rushed as usual. "You coming home anytime soon?"

"I'm leaving in about twenty minutes," Owen checked his clock just to make sure his shift was about to end. "I'll see you at home?"

"No, don't come home," Amelia's voice sounded excited. "Go take a shower or something and wait for me. I'll drive by to pick you up in about half an hour."

Owen hung up, wondering what in the world she was plotting. Thirty minutes later, he saw her car pull up at the hospital parking lot and went in its direction, noticing Amelia was accompanied only by Danny.

"Nice clothes," He frowned, seeing how dressed up Danny was. He had on a blue button up shirt, dark slacks and light brown loafers, not at all what he would expect a teenager to wear. "Are you taking dressing lessons from Tom?"

"Very funny, dad." Danny shrugged, tidying up his collar.

"Oh, it's tonight?" Owen's eyes enlarged as he watched Amelia drive off "The big date?"

"Yeah," Danny answered with a nervous smile.

Owen knew Danny had asked out one of the girls in his class and Amelia had called the girl's mom and made sure they would pick her up and drive her back once the date was over. When they pulled the car on her driveway, Owen noticed how anxious his son looked as he walked up to the door to ring the door bell.

Minutes later, Sarah was in the back seat with him, happily chatting. She was a young girl of thirteen, same age as the twins. Amelia could see why Danny had a crush on her: the girl was witty, polite and she had the cutest black hair that matched very well her almond eyes and Asian features.

"Why am I here, again?" Owen whispered to Amelia, seeing on the rearview mirror how the two kids were engaged in their own conversation. When Amelia had gone to pick him up later that evening, he had no idea what her plans were.

"Well," Amelia stopped at a red light and put a hand on his thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze before looking into his eyes "I was coming back from Vancouver today and I realized that even our thirteen year old son is having more romance in life lately than we do."

"Babe, it's his first date ever," Owen reminded her.

"Exactly," Amelia thought it proved her point. "And how many did we have in the last year?" She made a dramatic pause. "That's right, none." She focused again on the road and moved the car. "I haven't seen you in forever outside of work or the house, Owen. When was the last time we did something together, just the two of us? You're always traveling, I'm always traveling. We barely have any time to spend with our kids, let alone to enjoy each other's company."

Owen thought about it for a while, realizing how right she was. They were happily married and generally got along very well, but over the course of the last few years, they'd seen each other less and less. The kids were growing up and soon Lucas and Thomas were going off to college and once they blinked, the same would happen to Megan and the twins. He and Amelia were very close and very comfortable around each other. She was still his favorite company, together with his children. He didn't want that to change, ever.

"I guess you're right." He stated, getting her point entirely. "Well, I'm glad you asked me out on a date then," He added with a gentle smile, as Amelia parked the car at the mall.

They went to the movies and Amelia let Danny choose which one he wanted to watch with Sarah, on purpose choosing a different movie to go to with Owen. It felt wonderful to spend some time away from her hectic daily routine while snuggling up next to her husband in a movie theater, eating chocolate and forgetting about her problems for the following two hours.

Afterwards, they made it to the restaurant of Danny's choice and Amelia couldn't control her laugher when the boy asked the maître for two separate tables. She and Owen watched from a distance as their son listened to the girl during most of their meal, with a look of utter infatuation in his eyes.

"Did someone cast a spell on him?" Owen asked smiling widely, unable to take his eyes off Danny's table on the opposite corner of the restaurant.

"It's called testosterone," Amelia laughed with him. "An insane amount of it rushing in his veins causes that."

"Not just _his_ veins," Owen took his eyes away from their son and starred at Amelia's neck suggestively. She turned her head sideways to face him and they exchanged a meaningful smile. "How are you always so beautiful?" Owen's hand traveled from the menu to her face, his thumb gently caressing the outline of her lips.

Amelia touched her forehead to his, breathing in his amazing familiar scent.

"I missed this," She confessed, her hand gently running on his forearm to his elbow. "I missed you."

"We should date more often," Owen proposed with a teasing smile, showing he was having a great time.

"We definitely should," Amelia agreed and leaned over to reach his lips. Owen promptly kissed her back, just as eagerly. She pulled apart at the same time her cell phone buzzed on the table. Amelia picked it up and read the message on her screen.

Owen saw his wife burst out laughing and couldn't help smiling, contaminated by her sight.

"What happened?" He asked, starting to laugh at her reaction.

"Look at this," Amelia showed Owen her phone, where a text from Danny was visible.

 _Stop making out. You guys are embarrassing me. I'm on a date, not you two. Quit it._

"He even added an angry emoji," Owen noticed, laughing along. He saw the happiness in Amelia's eyes and driven by the desire he felt for her, stole another kiss from her lips.

"Dan is going to be mad at us for a whole week," She joked when they pulled apart again.

They both instantly looked at their son's table, getting a deadly glare back from him. Soon after, Owen asked the waiter for the bill for both tables and they drove Sarah back home. The boy left the car to walk her to her door and came back seconds later, getting inside the SUV in silence, with a heavy frown on his face.

"What?" Owen innocently asked, noticing how upset his son looked. "She doesn't want to go out with you again?"

"Your guys' behavior today was unacceptable," Danny commented, very seriously. "I don't want to be seen in public with you two ever again."

"Because we made out more than you did tonight?" Amelia asked, openly teasing her son.

"If I need a shrink when I'm grown up, it's on you." Danny bitterly replied, looking out the car window on purpose, clearly mad.

Owen and Amelia exchanged amused smiles and when they parked the car at home, Danny led the way in silent, storming out in frustration.

"Seriously, Dan, what happened with Sarah?" Owen asked, seeing his distress. "Did she turn you down?"

"She asked me if it was normal that my parents were kissing like that," He sighed heavily, as a typical teenager. "But she did agree to another date," His face changed expressions completely as he said the words.

"We can't help it," Amelia teased, looking suggestively at her son, as if about to attack him "We like kissing so much," She joked, taking large strides in his direction and wrapping him in her arms, showering Danny with kisses.

"Mom, stop!" The boy asked, unable to contain his laughter.

Even though the twins were already about an inch taller than Amelia, she still treated them like her little boys because in her heart that's what they always would be.

At the sound of their voices, Robbie joined them in the living room and Amelia left her sons with Owen watching a game when she made her way upstairs, exhausted and willing to finish her day with a long hot bath before bed. She knew Megan was sleeping at Maggie's, spending her Friday night with her daughter Claire and Thomas was out at dinner with Matt and his girlfriend.

She had just entered her room when she was startled by two large blue eyes staring at her from a distance.

"Jesus Christ, Luke, you nearly killed me!" Amelia reflexively took her hand to her heart. She went on preparing things for her bath when she noticed Lucas was lurking around. "What are you doing here?"

When she finally gave him her full attention, she noticed he was paler than usual and seemed extremely agitated. Lucas had been debating for the last two days whether or not to tell his mom the truth about what was happening, but today, after class, he had finally decided he should come clean and just admit it already.

"Lucas?" Amelia insisted, watching him unknowingly pace back and forth in her room.

"I have to tell you something," He looked up to meet her eyes, visibly anxious. "But I'm afraid of your reaction."

"What happened, Lucas?" Amelia was instantly worried. She remembered the talk she'd had with him two days before and how she sensed he was hiding something. "Did you do anything? What is going on?"

"Mom," Lucas' voice was almost a plea. "I got myself in a situation and I am not sure how to get out of it. I don't even know if I can get out of it."

"Oh, for God's sake, Lucas!" It was Amelia who was now extremely nervous. "Just tell me already!"

Seeing the desperation stamped in his eyes, Amelia's mind was racing with a million of questions. Was he doing drugs? Drinking? Had he gotten a girl pregnant? She felt her heart beating faster as the sound of his hesitant voice reached her ears.

"Mom," Lucas was nearly sobbing when he finally admitted the truth. "I think they're gonna kick me off the soccer team."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey you guys! Thank you so much for all the amazing support : )

Someone asked in the comments that I write about the time Owen and Amelia went to Hawaii and she got pregnant with the twins. I've been getting this prompt quite a lot, so I will write about that as soon as I've finished with this multi chapter :) I hope you guys are enjoying this, feedback is always much appreciated!

 **My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 3**

"What do you mean?" Amelia tried not to sound too judgmental, even though her initial reaction would be to yell at him, anxious to hear her son's explanation. "Why would they kick you off the soccer team?!"

Amelia knew Lucas was the star player of the school. Even though he wasn't a striker, usually the most talented players, he still had the most notoriety and recognition on the team. As a left defender, Lucas had great leadership skills, being team captain since his sophomore year; was the league record holder of converting free kicks into goals and had scored more header shots than most strikers combined. But not only was Lucas great technically, he was also a very dedicated and reliable player, not missing any matches the previous season and having nearly perfect practice attendance. So, to Amelia, it didn't make sense they were considering to not let him play anymore.

"I was called to the Guidence Counselor's office before my classes started," Lucas explained. "She wanted to discuss my plans for my senior year." He went on, giving his mother time to digest every piece of information. The fall semester had started a couple of weeks before and the team was in a local friendly tournament against other private schools to warm up for the season. "She said that in order to graduate, it's mandatory I take at least these four classes," It was obvious on his face how that information was preoccupying him. "Including a foreign language."

Those were subjects Lucas had specifically been trying to avoid for the past three years in hope that they wouldn't be needed for him to reach all the credits required by the school, but he was wrong. And now they had accumulated to his senior year, which meant he would have not one, but four tough challenges ahead of him.

Amelia knew Lucas never enrolled in challenging classes and she had never forced him to take on anything other than the minimal required to graduate because Lucas had always struggled in school, so most of his available time had been dedicated to sports. Ever since he was a young boy, Lucas had always dreamed of being a professional athlete and even though that was something Amelia and Owen had found hard to get use to, considering none of them had ever had imagined pursuing that path themselves, they were now completely on board with their son's choice.

Lucas had been playing soccer ever since he was very young but it wasn't until elementary school that his parents had really noticed just how good he was. Over the years, his excellence had only improved and now both Amelia and Owen were the biggest supporters of his laid out plan of playing college soccer and then hopefully making it into a major league team someday.

But Amelia knew that athletes were susceptible to injuries, sometimes even having career-ending ones, so she was adamant that Lucas got a solid education in order to guarantee his future, if for some reason he couldn't play soccer anymore or didn't make it in life through the sport. But deep down, she had always believed her son would become a professional athlete. Lucas was incredibly talented and driven when it came to soccer and she only wished he could also channel some of that motivation to fight his way through dyslexia.

"Why is that a problem, Luke?" She tried to understand. "You've cleared out most of the mandatory subjects, last year you had six, now you only have four left. It should give you more free time to study on your last year. That wouldn't take you off the team."

"But failing will," Lucas said and in his eyes Amelia could see the mix of pain, desperation and anxiety. "I need a minimal GPA to play soccer, you know that, mom." Amelia nodded with her head. The school was very strict and wouldn't allow Lucas to play unless he dedicated some of his time to his grades. "I've spent my entire junior year hanging by a thread," That also wasn't news to Amelia. Lucas was below his class average but he had always kept his GPA on the bottom line to be eligible to play. "But mom… Now they want me to learn Spanish." He added with a somber voice.

"So you're going to study harder, try harder and you're going to make it." Amelia firmly said, having trouble figuring out why that was causing her son so much stress. Lucas had had harder classes in the past before and she was sure he could succeed now.

"You don't get it!" He involuntarily raised his voice and paced back and forth, on the verge of a breakdown. "How do you expect me to learn another language?" He pleaded, desperately. His eyes made their way from the floor to his mother's eyes and she noticed for the first time his own had fear. It was painful to watch how hard it was for him to admit his impending failure. "When I can barely _read_ in English?" Lucas's eyes were red and his voice was hoarse. "I can't do it, mom. I can't do it…"

Amelia looked at her usually happy and cheerful son, suffering right in front of her eyes. She closed the distance between them and with one quick movement, embraced him tightly.

The minute his mother's arms involved him, Lucas broke down, unable to control himself. He could foresee his entire future and his dreams going to the drain because of the school rules. And he knew his parents wouldn't ask for special treatment just because he was an athlete or because he had a neurological condition. They had never done it before and they had taught Lucas well that no one deserved special privileges, regardless of who they were.

"You _can_ do it," Amelia held him, absolutely sure of what she was saying. "It doesn't matter how, but you'll learn it. You won't give up, you hear me? I won't let you. You'll stay in school afterhours, we'll hire a private tutor," She started to do what she did best: planning. "Hell, I'll even learn Spanish myself if I have to. Whatever it takes. But you will do this, Lucas. Not because you have to. But because you can."

Lucas heard her words in silence, wondering how in the world he would confess he was in over his head. He didn't want to be an even bigger disappointment to his parents. He already wasn't a good student. And if he couldn't play soccer, he wasn't sure of whom he could be anymore.

"It's not just that, mom." Lucas pulled apart and wiped an unshed tear from his eye, visibly embarrassed to be almost crying. "I have English literature too. And algebra. It's too much and I can't…" He sobbed, remembering how insanely difficult the classes had been in the previous two weeks. When his teacher had started mixing letters with numbers in equations and plotting graphics, Lucas had lost all interest because in his brain, that made absolute no sense. "We had a test today to see how much baggage we had from previous years and I got an F. A freaking F." He looked painfully disappointed at himself. "They don't let you go to college with an F."

Lucas distanced himself from her and looked away. Amelia knew he was ashamed. She also knew his condition wasn't his fault, but Lucas had grown up thinking he was incapable of learning or succeeding. Soccer had been his outlet, the only thing he could do that he was really good at. And now, with the chance of having it taken away from him, it was understandable that he would be freaking out.

And after hearing her son, it finally made sense to Amelia why he had been acting so weird. Ever since school had started, he had been facing his most challenging problem on a daily basis, probably in every class he attended. And that day, after getting proof that his biggest fear was actually coming true, he'd had a nervous breakdown, seeing his entire future in jeopardy.

"You're going to college, Lucas, don't ever doubt that," Amelia said with security, making him look at her again. "We'll think of something, we'll try a different approach. But you'll catch up. You're fully capable of doing it."

Lucas looked at his mom, smiling tenderly. During his entire life, she had never given up on him. His parents had taken him to the best pediatric neurologists in the country, they've read about his condition, studied it themselves and hired every single education counselor there was available in order to help him. Lucas had made a lot of progress over the years and he had always noticed how his parents had tried everything and done their very best to make sure he was getting all the support he needed.

"I'm not Thomas, mom." Lucas said with simplicity. That was something he had long accepted. He would never succeed in school like his brother and he feared sometimes that their parents forgot about that. It wasn't just about trying harder. Sometimes, it came to a point where he actually couldn't be more productive. And that was particularly hard, considering both his parents were acknowledged doctors and his sister and three brothers were just as successful, all being ranked at the top of their classes. "I'm not going to Harvard, hell, at this pace, I might not even go to community college."

Amelia knew dyslexic patients often dropped out of school and didn't succeed in their careers but she would never let Lucas give up on himself.

"I never expected you to be like Thomas." Amelia assured him, glad he had said it. She knew Lucas felt even worse about his condition because his brother was the brightest student in school. "I always expected you to be exactly what you are. And you are awesome. You make me proud every day." She went to him again and held his face between her hands, seeing his beautiful boyish face assaulted by anguish. "You are _not_ a disappointment to me, Luke."

Amelia noticed his lower lip started trembling again. There it was. She had finally reached the root of the problem and she was glad she had said it, because it was exactly what Lucas needed to hear. Hugging him again, she rubbed his back and said with absolute certainty.

"You'll play your game tomorrow and you'll do great," She smiled, knowing very well he needed that encouragement. "And on Monday, we'll be in school first thing in the morning to discuss with your counselor what's the best plan for us this semester."

"Okay." Lucas sniffed, visibly touched and more at ease. He felt like a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders and was relieved he had gathered the courage to come clean to his mother about what was happening.

"And we will get through this, together." She looked deeply into his eyes, so he knew she meant it. "As a team."

And Lucas didn't even need to say another word. Because in his eyes, she instantly saw the light shinning again. He wasn't alone, he had never been.

"Team Hunt," Lucas sheepishly lifted his open palm, offering it to his mom, in a gesture he'd done hundreds of times before and was now far too familiar.

"Team Hunt," She replied, giving him a kiss on the head before taking his hand in hers.

.

The following day, when Lucas was warming up for his game, he took a look to the bleachers and saw his family sitting in the front rows. His mother was sitting between his twin brothers, happily chatting with one of them while the other kept busy eating popcorn with their little sister. His dad was sitting right behind them, paying attention to the players on the field while he talked to Jackson Avery, whose son Joey was also on the team. Only Thomas wasn't there, because he had gone to a yacht sail with his girlfriend's family, despite their mother's rant earlier that morning about how Tom was becoming a total stranger, missing out on the family events.

Lucas knew his dad was an avid sports fan and was proud to have gotten that passion from him. He noticed the families of the other players were around as well and couldn't help grinning when one of the cheerleaders on the field smiled at him and blew a kiss in his direction.

Lucas pretended to catch it with his hand and put it on his heart, making the girl laugh. He was halfway in her direction when the coach pulled him by the collar, telling him to go prepare for the initial whistle.

Five minutes into the game, Amelia saw something within the corner of her eyes that caught her attention. On the opposite side to where they were sitting, she saw Thomas walking in, hand in hand with a blonde girl whose face was painfully familiar. He was wearing a navy shawl collar sweater and elegant slacks. Amelia could tell he wasn't dressed for a soccer game and had probably come from his girlfriend's family yacht event sooner than planned. She wondered what had made him change his mind about it.

"Look, there's Barbie and Ken," Megan pointed to where her older brother was standing, holding hands with his girlfriend.

"Meg," Amelia reprimanded her out of obligation, but couldn't help smiling.

"Are they coming here?" Megan asked, visibly annoyed. "If she talks to me like I'm a baby again I'm going to throw popcorn at her face."

"Megan!" Amelia reprimanded again, but deep inside she felt proud that her daughter was unknowingly so loyal.

Amelia watched as Thomas embarrassingly sat next to his family, as if he had reservations about being around them while with his girlfriend. Amelia saw him say something in her ear and then pointed to the field, but just as she focused her eyes on the field again, she couldn't help scanning through the crowd and noticing something interesting.

Katherine Karev, Alex and Jo's oldest child, had her eyes focused on Thomas and Missy instead of the game. Amelia noticed the girl kept a heavy frown on her face and wondered if Kate also wasn't a big fan of Thomas' girlfriend. She knew Kate and her son had always been close friends since first grade and she had noticed how they'd grown apart over the last few months but she hadn't yet had a chance to talk to Thomas about it.

Amelia was so caught up in her own thoughts that she was startled when a loud sound brought her back to reality. Among cheers and boos, she turned to her right, in search of an answer and Robbie explained that Joey Avery had just suffered a foul close to the opposite team's area. Amelia looked up and saw Owen behind her, seeing the smile on the corner of his lips and the pride stamped on his eyes as their son took the ball, putting it on the mark made by the referee, a few yards to the left of the goal. Lucas took three strides back and at the sound of the whistle he converted the free kick into a goal, making the bleachers bounce with the roar from the crowd.

"Lucas is out of this world… He is too damn good," Jackson Avery commented in Amelia's ear to be heard among the loud cheers, making her smile from ear to ear with pride. Jackson and April's son Joey was the team's number one striker, but everyone knew Lucas' talent and skill was unbeatable.

Minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle and Amelia watched with delight as Megan ran from the bleachers to her brother's arms, being firmly placed high on his shoulders, where she loved to be. Amelia felt Owen's arm wrapping around her shoulder when he gave her a kiss on the temple, as they watched their son being once again acclaimed by the crowd together. They noticed how much Megan enjoyed the attention, being at the center of the field among the entire team. Once again thanks to Lucas, the soccer team had made it to the final match and that was reason enough to celebrate.

.

Once the game was over, Amelia went out with Maggie for a coffee, to catch up on their lives and see each other outside of work. Both brought their daughters and talked for hours at a bookshop café while the girls happily chatted over books on some colorful cushions nearby. On their way back home, Claire joined them for a sleepover at Megan's house.

When Amelia got home with the two ten year olds, she wasn't surprised to find out her four sons had company. Matt Robbins and Joey Avery were playing videogames with Thomas and Lucas on the living room TV, while Robbie and Danny were crouched down by one corner playing a board game with Jack Karev, Kate's thirteen year old brother.

As usual, the living room was a mess. There were joysticks and shoes everywhere and overnight bags were on the couch. It wasn't the first Saturday night that Amelia saw her house turned upside down and it probably wouldn't be the last. But she didn't mind one bit. She loved that her children brought over their friends and she knew Owen felt the same.

Thomas had once told her that his and Lucas' friends thought their parents were the coolest because they actually talked to the kids and participated in their games and jokes. Amelia knew she and Owen didn't do it to look 'cool' or anything like that, but because they genuinely enjoyed being around their kids and meeting their friends, especially the ones they've seen growing up and had come to adore over the years. They had always had a very close relationship with their five children and she knew they all felt comfortable and confident enough to share anything with their parents.

"Where's Kate?" Amelia noticed the girl wasn't present, picking up one very stinky sock from the coffee table and waving to see who'd claim it.

"Mine," Robbie took it as Megan and Claire kneeled down on the floor to join them on the game.

"She didn't want to come," Joey turned his head to face their friends' mom. "Something about a paperwork?" He wondered, pressing the buttons on the joystick. "I'm not sure."

Amelia immediately looked for Thomas' eyes, paying attention to see if he would offer any more explanations considering he was historically the closest one to Kate but he simply looked away, apparently unaffected, but Amelia could distinguish how uncomfortable with the topic he really was.

"Ok, who is hungry?" She excitedly asked, seeing everyone was probably staying over for their night, as usual.

"Dad already ordered pizza," Lucas grinned, visibly satisfied. He was always hungry and that wasn't news to anyone.

Owen had just come from the kitchen when the doorbell rang and the boys rushed to the front porch. Amelia laughed with them, watching as Owen was summoned to play videogames with the boys and got schooled by Thomas, who won by a great advantage.

"Geez, dad, even mom is better at this than you," Danny pointed out, referring to the virtual soccer game.

"I am better at doing it than playing pretend," Owen raised an eyebrow, making the boys laugh at Amelia's expression of incredulity.

"Alright guys, I'm going to take the girls upstairs because they're already half asleep," Amelia noticed Megan and Claire were dozing off on the couches. "Jack, Rob and Dan, come on, let's go get ready for bed," She noticed it was past midnight already. "You guys don't stay up too late, if it's not raining tomorrow maybe we could have a barbecue outside?" She raised her eyebrows in question to Owen, who nodded in approval.

Amelia helped Megan and Claire settle in the girl's room and then got an extra mattress for Jack and put it in the twins' room, telling the boys not to stay up chatting until late hours. When she made it back to her own suite, she found Owen already under the covers, comfortably lying back while watching the news.

"Did you tell the boys not to stay up late?" He distractedly asked, focusing on the TV while Amelia changed into her typical sleepwear: one of his pajama shirts that was too large for her size. "If we let them, they'll stay up until dawn playing that thing."

"Yeah, I told them," Amelia said, turning off the lights to get on her side of the bed.

She noticed Owen's serene expression and couldn't help wrapping her arms around him, leaning over by his side on the bed.

"Do we have to be up early tomorrow?" He asked, giving her a kiss on the forehead before turning his eyes back to the TV.

"I don't think so… I only have one patient admitted but Edwards is going to round on him tomorrow." She clarified, gently running her hands on the back of his head.

"Maybe then you could actually sleep in?" He raised his eyebrows playfully, teasing her because Amelia was often up very early. "And by that I mean later than 7 am?"

She chuckled and bent over for a quick kiss, enjoying it when he held her closer, making her rest her head between his shoulder and chest. Owen's other hand rubbed the skin of her naked thigh delicately, while he watched the reporter talking about a cyclist that had been hit by a driver on one of the city's busiest streets.

Amelia glanced over at the side of his face, noticing the hard curve of his jaw. She loved how rough his face was and how masculine he looked.

"Babe, today Maggie and I had a funny conversation."

"Yeah?" Owen inquired, still with his eyes on the TV. He knew his wife and her best friend were always exhaustively discussing their lives and often seeing too much into things.

"She confessed she hasn't had sex in a while," Amelia shared. "Good sex, at least. And then she asked me how many times we have sex, you know, in average… She said she feels like she and Andrew have fallen into a boring routine." Amelia thought about that, thinking how awful it must have been to feel that way. "You know, as if there's no excitement anymore. Just the plain boring, same old thing." Owen knew Maggie had been married to Andrew Deluca for a decade now and he honestly wasn't interested in their sex life. He was about to ask why Amelia was telling him that when he heard her ask, in her usual fire mouth manner, "Babe, have you ever felt like you wanted to have sex with someone else during the time we've been married?"

Owen immediately took his eyes from the TV and gave her his full attention. She noticed when his eyes widened and his forehead became heavily frowned.

"I mean, have you ever looked at an attractive woman and thought, 'I'd tap that'?"

"Amelia!"

"I am just asking," She replied with a livid face.

"No, I have never thought that" He replied, torn between shock and amusement, unsure of why she was asking him that. "Have you? What kind of question is that?"

Amelia laughed and pulled him closer.

"No, I haven't!" Amelia confessed with a smile. "Think about it, isn't that super weird?" She chuckled, seeing his confused expression. "I know it's politically correct that I shouldn't feel attracted to anyone else because I am married but we both know that's not usually how it goes, I mean… People often don't act on it, but most people I know who've been in a long relationship say they would have sex with someone else if they could. That they wanted to."

"They would?" Owen raised one eyebrow at her, curious as to where that conversation was going. It was typical for Amelia to lure him into an absurd conversation without him realizing it until it was too late. She spoke so fast and so randomly that he was always surprised when, by the end of the conversation, she came up with a sense or elaborated point.

"Yes!" She laughed at his exasperation. "They would. Maggie told me today she has this list of people she could have sex with without Andrew ever complaining about it… They came up with it together. Sort of like a free pass list. He has one too. But the names on it are so absurd they're unlikely to ever happen, I mean," She smiled contagiously, clearly having fun. "When was it that he would ever meet Nicole Kidman and she'd want to have sex with Deluca?"

Owen laughed along, seeing how much she was enjoying herself.

"Do we have a list?" He asked, unsure of where she was going with that.

"We don't," She smiled at him, touching her nose to his and keeping her eyes open. "Wait, would you want a list?" She asked with a heavy expression.

"No," He said with honesty. "Why? Would you have sex with someone else if you could?" He possessively asked, holding her tighter in his arms. "I mean, technically you _could,_ but…"

Amelia leaned in and kissed his face repeatedly, holding his face between her hands.

"That's my point!" She grinned widely, as if he had just made a huge discovery. Owen starred at her in plain confusion while she rubbed her thumbs on his cheeks, "It's what I've been trying to say, babe, I wouldn't" He heard the sound of her wonderful musical laughter. "I actually wouldn't and it feels kind of creepy to think that," She confessed and stopped talking, taking a deep breath to figure out she was surprising even herself. "I actually _don't_ want to have sex with anyone else."

"So, let me see if I've got this straight," Owen shifted her in his arms, so he could look directly into her eyes. "You're saying you don't want a free pass list because opposite to what most married people feel, you don't want to have sex with someone else?"

Amelia nodded in agreement.

"Why couldn't you just have led with that?" He shook his head.

"But you understood it perfectly," She kissed his face. "I don't know why you even say I'm confusing."

Amelia looked at the TV and Owen couldn't help laughing while nodding his head in disapproval. It wasn't possible she thought it was somewhat easy to understand her complicated logic. But somehow he did.

Owen kept her in his arms while they watched the news, both already relaxing again. But his curiosity wouldn't go away. When the TV reporter went on a break, he looked into her eyes once more.

"And when Maggie asked you how often we had sex, what did you tell her?" Owen raised one eyebrow, curious about her answer. "Did you tell her the truth?"

"I didn't want to make her feel worse, so I told her more than two, less than five. But I have a feeling she thought I meant in a month."

"Oh, really?" Owen smugly leaned over her.

"I couldn't say that was our weekly ratio," Amelia smiled broadly, showing off her adorable dimples that always drove him crazy with passion for her. "It would feel too much like I was bragging."

"You are a great friend," He let her know, looking proudly at his wife.

"Yeah, screw it… Maggie can suck it up, because we're the best at this marriage thing," Amelia playfully offered him her hand for a high 5.

"It's not a competition, babe," He laughed at her excitement.

"But she wishes she was sucking it up, if you know what I mean." Amelia laughed at her own joke.

"You can't be serious…" Owen gave up talking halfway through his speech, thinking he should have known better by now. Laughing along her, he watched with amusement as Amelia rested her head on his chest again, slowly dozing off.

Owen ran his hand on the length of her arm, pulling her closer. Soon after, he felt her yawning and before she moved to her own side of the bed, Owen held her jaw with his hand and brought her face closer to a long, insistent kiss that washed Amelia's mind of every last thought, making her finally fall into a peaceful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you everyone for the incredible, amazing support!

.

 **My Boys Bright Future – Chapter 4**

"Tom."

"Yeah?"

"Thomas!"

The boy looked up from his writing pad, meeting his father's impatient eyes.

"I need you to clear up the table, dinner is almost ready." Owen explained, after minutes of trying to catch the boy's attention.

"Sorry, I am nearly done here," Thomas gathered his computer and some paper sheets.

"What are you up to?" Owen asked, interested.

"Finishing my chemistry homework." The teenager let out a heavy sigh. "The teacher gave us these pages with eighty exercises due tomorrow, can you believe it?" Thomas shook his head in disapproval.

"Is that your AP class?" Owen inquired while stirring the tomato sauce by the stove.

"Yeah," Thomas let him know. "I'm taking AP Chem, Biology, Physics and Calculus this year. Should keep me busy," He teased himself.

"Piece of cake," Owen smiled, thinking it wouldn't be Thomas if he didn't push himself that hard. "Just remember to have fun and be sixteen every once in a while, alright?"

"Deal," Thomas replied with a grin, already gathering his things inside his school bag. The amount of homework that year was insanely high but nothing he couldn't handle relatively easily.

"Is Missy taking these classes with you?" Owen turned off the cook top and looked at his son, inquiringly.

Thomas seemed embarrassed when he replied.

"Um, she tried but she wasn't eligible yet," Thomas explained, not giving more details.

"You should bring her over to dinner sometime," Owen suggested. "You're always hanging out with her family but you never bring her here. We only met her that one time at your school science fair before summer break last semester."

Thomas seemed embarrassed for a while, unsure of what to say but he decided to be honest.

"She comes from a very different family, dad. They have a whole particular dynamic" He explained. "I know you and mom don't think she is a good person. And I know Meg and my brothers wouldn't exactly be rays of sunshine around her. That's why I haven't brought her here yet."

"Why do you think she comes from a different family'?" Owen crossed his arms and looked at her son, defensively. "What do you mean by that? Are you embarrassed of your family?"

"No! Not at all," Thomas quickly explained. That was not what he'd meant. "She is an only child and her parents are not very present." He tried to make his dad see the situation through his eyes. "I mean, they're there but they don't have the kind of relationship with her that we do. I feel bad about it."

Owen furrowed his brows in question, giving Thomas the hint he should keep talking.

"Missy is not close to her parents… They talk to her but they don't really talk, you know?" Thomas stopped to see if his dad had gotten his point."It's like sometimes they're walking on eggshells and I think her parents often have no idea what goes on in her life. It's not at all like what it is here, with you guys. Anyway…" He shrugged, dismissing that topic. "I think it might be a bit overwhelming for her to come to our house and be bombarded with Meg and Mom asking her a million questions with double meaning while the twins confuse her talking in their own code and Luke asks if she has a cousin he can date."

"Tom," Owen went over and held his shoulder with one hand, squeezing it while he looked into his son's eyes. "We are your family," Owen was laughing at the inside at how accurate Thomas' description of everyone had been. He could completely see all of that happening during dinner. "If you can't properly introduce your girlfriend to your parents or your siblings, then what the hell are you doing with her?" Owen nodded in disapproval, trying not to sound biased. "Buddy, I know you're trying to be protective but you can't make yourself smaller to make anyone feel better about themselves. It's selfish of them to demand that and you shouldn't put yourself in that position. You have a functional family and she doesn't. Don't hide that. Be proud of it."

"I am!"

"Well, then stop acting like you aren't." Owen advised. "I know mom can be a piece of work sometimes, believe me." He emphasized it. "But only because she loves you too much and wants what's best for you. She worked too hard to build what we have today and you can't ever take that for granted. None of us can." Thomas and his siblings knew about their mother's trouble past. They didn't keep any secrets in their household and Owen was adamant it stayed that way, always. "Shielding Missy away from everyone and everything will only drive you further apart from us. And we don't want that. None of us want that."

"You're right, dad."

"You've missed more family dinners and events in the last three months than the rest of us combined. And mom and I travel a lot. We miss you, Tommy. We want you here with us."

"I'm sorry," Thomas took a deep breath, letting his father's words sink in. He stayed still for a while, thoroughly processing that shock of reality. "You're absolutely right."

Owen gave him a smile of reassurance and watched as his son was visibly surprised with his own realization.

"Alright, now go get your brothers and sister for dinner."

"But what about mom?"

"She's in surgery, won't be home for a while. It's just us tonight."

.

Lucas entered the nearly empty classroom, looking through the students that were leaving in order to find the person he was supposed to meet. He double checked to see if that was really the advanced Spanish class and read the email he'd gotten earlier that morning on his phone again.

"Is there an Emily Spencer here?" He asked a sophomore, who pointed to the other side of the room.

Lucas thanked him with a head nod and walked towards the girl, noticing a short, auburn haired teenager who looked very focused on writing on a paper page.

"Hi," He greeted her with his usual charming smile.

She looked up at him behind the lenses of her glasses, scowled and focused again on the paper on her desk.

A smile formed on Lucas' lips when he saw her initial reaction to his presence. He didn't know this girl but he had a feeling she already didn't like him. Sitting down at the desk next to her, he smugly made himself comfortable, throwing his schoolbag on an empty chair.

"Are you Emily Spencer?" He kept on purposely staring at her, knowing he was making her uncomfortable.

She sighed heavily and peeked at him, obviously unsatisfied, but nodded in agreement.

"I am Lucas Hunt," He announced proudly, with a flirtatious smile.

Lucas charmingly tilted his head sideways in the exact moment she took off her reading glasses and finally turned her head to look at him.

Emily noticed his uniform tie wrapped around his wrist instead of his neck. His school suit was hanging on his shoulder and the sleeves of his white button up shirt were pulled almost all the way to his elbows. She thought he looked the complete opposite of what a student in their school should look like.

"Yes, I know who you are."

When she turned away from him once again, Lucas stretched his neck to stare into her eyes, regaining her attention.

"I got an email this morning," He shared, wondering if she knew about his ordeal. "It said you're in the tutoring program? And that you're my assigned tutor?" He wasn't sure if she was aware of that.

"Yes I know," Emily finally put away her pad and got up, looking down at him. "I got the email too. Lucky me, huh?" She added, with sarcasm.

Lucas frowned, wondering what he could possibly have done to make her dislike him already, but he dismissively shrugged, trying to stay practical. Earlier that week, he and his parents had laid out a plan on how he could improve his grades and they'd found out through Thomas that the school had tutoring programs for students to help out other students.

"Just to make sure," He asked, trying to sound neutral. "You _are_ going to tutor me on Spanish, right?"

Emily glanced at him with what it looked like despise and took a deep breath before opening her mouth:

"I am," She looked straight into his eyes as she talked. "But just so we are clear. I'll teach you Spanish, you'll learn it. That's it. That's how far it goes."

"What?" Lucas chuckled at how serious she was being. Who was this girl? He had never noticed her before.

"I know who you are, Lucas Hunt," The spite was clear on her face. "You always get away with everything, and that's your problem, not mine. I am not tutoring you because I am nice or because I like you," She added, very straightforwardly, "But because I need the extra credit to improve my chances of getting into college, is that clear? I am not your friend, and I'm not one of your buddies."

"So you'll help me," Lucas chased after her when she started to leave, "While I help you, is that right?" He added with a wicked smile.

"No," She said, looking very serious, almost offended. "You need me, I don't need you," She clarified. "You need a Spanish tutor and I'm the only one available, so you're stuck with me. But if you so much as cross the line, I swear I'll ask to change students, Hunt."

She turned her back and started to leave again but Lucas caught up with her.

"Define _crossing the line_ ," He openly flirted. Lucas was getting more intrigued by the minute and he liked that feeling.

"We'll talk about Spanish and Spanish only," She cut him off. "Tomorrow afternoon, 3 pm at the school library. Be there."

Lucas was still focusing on how beautiful her hazel eyes were when she suddenly turned her back to him, leaving him with more questions than he'd had to begin with.

.

"Daaad."

Owen looked up to the sound of the musical voice, finding Megan standing right behind the living room couch.

"Yes, Meg?" He replied, already foreseeing she was about to ask him something. Every time she approached him with that sweet attitude he knew she was up to something. Much like her mother.

"Dad," Megan made her way around the couch and stood in front of him, blocking his view to the TV. "Are you working this Sunday?"

"Why are you suddenly interested in my schedule?" Owen raised one eyebrow at his ten year old daughter, watching as she took a seat next to him on the couch.

"Well, mom said she has three surgeries on Saturday, so she will probably spend the entire weekend at the hospital," Megan stated, disappointed. "And so will Uncle Andrew. But Claire and I wanted to go to the Rocket Girls concert."

"And why can't your Aunt Maggie take you?" Owen could already see what was about to come.

"She said she would rather listen to mom ranting about you for ten straight hours than to take us," Megan confessed, seeing the perplexed expression on her dad's face.

"Mom rants about me?!" Owen was almost offended.

"Dad, focus!" Megan held his face between her hands and looked deeply at him. Owen noticed her silver blue eyes, so similar to her mom's, obviously trying to convince him to do something he really didn't want to. "Please, dad, it's their only concert in the whole state of Washington, they've never even been to Seattle before and Claire and I love them so much! Dad, please, we would give away our entire Barbie collection just to see them for five minutes! That's how much I love them. I would even give away Robbie's iPad!"

"Robbie's iPad?" Owen looked at her conspicuously.

"I use it more than he does, anyway." Megan said with her usual sass. "Please, dad, _please, please_ , take us!"

Owen let out a heavy sigh. Taking two ten year old girls to a concert he knew would be filled with screaming girls was really not his idea of an ideal weekend.

"Dad," Megan insisted. "I know you want to take us, because you're the best daddy in the world."

"Megan," Owen rolled his eyes playfully, knowing she was pushing it.

"Ok, fine," She accepted his reprimand. "But I'll love you so much more if you take us, dad. So much more."

Her tactics were so low that Owen couldn't help chuckling. He looked at his adorable daughter, noticing her shoulder length strawberry blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. His chubby baby had turned into a skinny lively little girl, with bony knees and a smile so contagious he couldn't help falling more in love with her every time she showed off her dimples. Megan had her own special way of making all the boys in the house do exactly as she wished and Owen wasn't immune to that.

"Alright, fine." Owen gave in, knowing how hard it was to say no to his baby girl. "Sunday, right?"

"Yes!" Megan cheerfully celebrated, leaning in to give her dad lots of kisses on his face. "Thank you, dad!" She hugged him. "Now you only need to buy the tickets."

Owen broke her embrace, looking into her eyes with pretend impatience. She was really unbelievable. But being her mother's daughter, he realized he couldn't expect anything different.

.

Amelia got home Sunday night after spending the entire day at the hospital. She'd been logging so many hours in the OR that she felt like an intern all over again, except back then she didn't have much else to worry about. Much to her surprise, she found the house completely empty, even though it was past dinner time.

"Guys?" She dropped her bag on the living room couch and looked around, startled by the silence. It was never that quiet around the house and she couldn't help feeling intrigued.

She searched the bottom floor, including the kitchen, but only when she exited the house through the back door she finally found her family.

Her husband and all five kids were crouched down on the backyard grass. Amelia was about to ask what in the world was going on when she heard a loud, acute bark.

Amelia immediately stopped walking as six pairs of eyes stared at her, all of them seeing the discontentment on her face when a caramel ball of fur ran towards her, wiggling its tail excitedly.

"What the hell?" She asked, shocked to see there was a Golden Retriever puppy in their house. The reaction was evident on her face and her kids started talking all at the same time, obviously trying to change her initial impression.

"Isn't he lovely, mom?" Megan asked.

"I am sure he will be very well trained," Thomas commented.

"I didn't see this coming at all," Danny added, obviously happy.

"Whose dog is this?" Amelia's voice was dangerously calm and no one failed to notice. She looked up searching for her husband, noticing guilt stamped all over his face. "Owen, whose dog is it?" She repeated the question very slowly to make sure he had time to think about the answer he'd give her.

"Ours," Owen replied firmly, even though he knew she was getting angrier by the minute. "I was walking back from the concert with Meg and someone was handing these out for adoption."

"So you _took_ one?" Amelia couldn't believe them.

"Yeah, we did," Owen dismissively shrugged off, seeing how the five kids were absolutely enchanted with the puppy. "Come on, babe, we have a lot of space in the house and the kids have never had a pet before."

"And who's going to take care of it?" Amelia's voice was a pitch higher than usual.

"We all are," Owen said. "We were discussing it and it makes absolute sense that each one of us gets a day of the week."

"What?" Amelia exhaled from her nose, on the verge of yelling at him.

The kids noticed their mother wasn't at all happy with the discovery she had just made so they started doing everything in their power to convince her it was a good idea to let them have the dog.

"We'll definitely help out, mom," Lucas said. "Dad is always saying we should have more responsibility, this is a great opportunity for us to try that," He added, getting a nod of encouragement from his father.

"And the seven days of the week plan is great to make sure no one gets to do all the work," Thomas suggested, knowing their mother's biggest worry was that all the work would be left to her.

"Seven really makes sense," Robbie rambled, trying to distract their mother.

"Seven days of the week," Danny went on listing. "Seven colors of the rainbow,"

"Seven deadly sins," Robbie talked and the twins started their usual synchronized conversations that felt like they'd been rehearsed. "Seven seas!"

"Seven is the most powerful magical number," Danny finalized.

"Stop quoting Harry Potter!" Amelia lost all her patience and looked furiously from her sons to her husband when the puppy started chewing her boots. "Owen, can I talk to you?"

Everyone knew she wasn't really asking, so Megan hurried up to collect the dog before her mother did something impulsive. The kids watched as their parents walked back to the house, closing the back door after them.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Amelia raised her voice the minute they entered the kitchen.

Owen noticed his wife standing in front of him with a hard expression on her face, arms folded in front of her body and a demanding expression in her eyes.

"Amelia…"

"Don't Amelia me!" She interrupted him, looking for the cue to start ranting at him. She was exhausted from working all weekend and had only wanted some peace when she'd finally made it home. But instead, she had found out Owen had gone behind her back and done something they've had long disagreements about in the past. "You got a dog!" She complained, visibly worked up about it. "We've talked about this many times over and in every single one of them I made it perfectly clear I didn't want one!"

"Well, _you_ didn't!" Owen sighed, frustrated, trying to keep his cool. He knew he should have discussed it with her first but every time he had ever brought up the subject, Amelia had been completely against it. He knew there was no convincing her on the subject. "But the six of us did. We are six and you are one. We win."

She opened her mouth in shock and she was so angry that Owen couldn't help smiling at how adorable she looked.

"You think this is funny?!" She wanted to throw something at him just to wipe off that silly smile from his face. "This is totally wrong and you know it!"

"I know I should have said something, but…"

"You don't do things behind my back," Amelia ordered, going around him, visibly mad. "And stop spoiling Megan! You have to learn how to say no to her!"

"I say no when it matters," Owen defended himself, frowning at her accusation.

"You got to work a little extra harder on that," Amelia was nearly spitting fire. "I am _not_ cleaning dog poop." She said, very decisively. "You hear me? I am _not_ going to take that dog to the vet appointment, or worry about his vaccines, or force medication down his throat when all of you fail to do it, you hear me?" She took three strides in his direction as she spoke, pointing a finger at his chest.

Owen knew she had every reason to think those tasks would eventually be left to her because historically it was usually Amelia who organized schedules and decided the house chores. But their children were already old enough to take care of a dog and he had always wanted one too.

"Don't worry about it, you won't have to do any of those things," He used his best cold voice on purpose, seeing her grow angrier. He knew Amelia hated feeling forced to do things, but she hated feeling like she wasn't needed even more. "We got it."

"Well, go enjoy your dog, then." She said, still insanely mad at him.

"If you don't want to meet him, it's fine," Owen commented, knowing he was emotionally blackmailing her. Amelia had always been the outcast in her family and it drove her insane to feel like that again. Seeing her five children and husband brought together over something and feeling like an outsider was freaking her out and he didn't need to be an expert to know that. "The kids and I will love him enough."

"Go, then," Her body language said it all. The sarcasm in her voice showed how evident her discontentment was "Go be with your beloved family member." She turned her back to leave, but on a second thought spoke again, before Owen could exit through the back door. "And I swear to God, Owen, if you let the dog inside the house I'll send you both back to the kennel."

Owen couldn't help chuckling at her subtle offense, watching her storm off upstairs with anger. He went back outside, seeing his children having fun with the new puppy, but the worry was evident on each of their faces.

"Was she too mad, dad?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah," Owen shrugged off. "She'll get over it."

"So Peanut can stay?" Megan asked excitedly, naming the dog despite her brothers' resistance.

"Yes, he can," Owen assured her with a smile.

"Peanut is a not a good name," Robbie declared. "We should name him something stronger, like Thor or Kaiser."

"He's a Golden Retriever, not a woods wolf," Lucas added, looking affectionately at Megan after winking at her. "He already looks silly. I think Peanut is a suitable name."

"He sure does have the color of Peanut Butter," Thomas laughed until the puppy bit his finger with its tiny sharp teeth "Ouch!"

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Amelia's voice came from the second floor window, indicating she had clearly been watching and listening to them. "Get used to it! He is your _responsibility_ now," She added bitterly.

All kids looked up at the same time Amelia closed her window, proudly. Owen knew she wouldn't give in so soon, but she would eventually cave. He knew that going behind her back wasn't the best way but sometimes, it was the only option.

"Looks like someone is sleeping outside today," Lucas teased, with a grin. He then looked up, meeting his father's eyes and added with mirth. "And I don't mean the dog…"

.

.

Synopsis for Chapter 5 (coming up soon!):

Chapter 5: Lucas slowly settles in; Amelia is at odds with Owen; Thomas surprises his family with an unexpected move.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone, thank you so much for your heartfelt feedback, I really do appreciate it. Here is a little more:

 **My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 5**

Lucas looked down at the paper right in front of him, frowning hard while trying to concentrate exclusively on it.

" _Por qué hay tantos_ …" He tried to read the sentence, looking expectantly to Emily to see if he was doing okay.

It was his third afternoon of tutoring and so far, Emily Spencer still remained a mystery to him. During their previous sessions, she had dodged all his questions, making him focus entirely on the Spanish content. And miraculously, even though they had just begun, Lucas had already been able to pick up on some things.

"Don't look at me, look at the text," Emily commanded, with her usual bossy voice.

"Your eyes are very distracting," He confessed, smiling widely.

Emily let out a heavy sigh and looked back at him, impatiently.

"Are you here to learn Spanish or to flirt with me?" She upfront asked. "Because if you're not interested in learning, I can…"

"No, I am!" Lucas interrupted her. When he had first started being tutored by her, he hadn't expected much. Having had private tutors all his life, the idea of another one didn't excite him anymore. But somehow, that unknown girl was able to explain things to him in a way that made much more sense to his brain. She would exhaustively discuss the content verbally first, and only when Lucas had already learned and understood it all, she would make them go to the written part, which was the hardest for him. But knowing all the topics beforehand was much more productive than trying to understand them as he struggled with the letters and words. For the first time since Lucas could remember, he didn't feel dumb while learning something. "You're the best tutor I've ever had," He declared, honestly.

"You don't have to do that," Emily replied harshly, but for the first time, Lucas thought she sounded a bit embarrassed.

"Do what?" He genuinely smiled this time. "I'm just paying you a compliment. Don't be rude, just smile and accept it. You know. Like a normal person would," As he said the words, Lucas propped his neck forward, forcing eye contact with her.

He noticed Emily blushed and his alpha male pride couldn't be hidden.

"I told you to focus on the text," Emily said with simplicity, much less bitter this time.

"Why don't you want to be friends with me?" Lucas took advantage of the fact she'd let her guard down for a second.

Emily looked up to meet his gaze and let out a heavy sigh before replying.

"Because you're an idiot."

Lucas was so shocked by her straightforward reply that he took a while to digest it.

"What?" His question was followed by a loud chuckle, making people in the library turn around to ask for silence from them.

"You asked," She justified her response.

"You can't be serious," He was having fun, even though he knew he should be at least a little offended. "You don't even know me."

"Oh, but I do," Emily smiled for the first time, returning his bantering, and Lucas couldn't help noticing how prettier her face was when she smiled.

"No, you don't," He openly flirted.

"You see," Her expression changed completely, going from lighthearted to fully disapproving. "This is why I don't want to be your friend. You don't treat me like a person, you treat me like a challenge."

Lucas took his time studying her face to see what she meant and he finally understood.

"You think I'm flirting with you because I want to go out with you?" He smugly asked. It hadn't taken him more than five minutes with Emily Spencer to realize that flattery wouldn't get him anywhere. He wasn't interested in dating her; she was too smart and too intimidating. But he couldn't help having fun annoying her. "Don't flatter yourself. I flirt with everyone," He added, knowing that would drive her angrier. No girl liked to be told they weren't special, regardless of how interested or not in him they were.

"You're an idiot," She repeated, obviously affected by his words.

"So I keep hearing," Lucas teased, showing her his best grin.

"Nonetheless…" She started, hesitantly. "I do find your honesty quite refreshing."

"Yeah?" Lucas spun his pencil on his fingers while he kept looking at her.

"Yes," Emily replied, seemingly satisfied. "But I still think you're a clueless jock who can't tell right from wrong and only is popular because you score a lot of goals and dates a lot of girls."

Lucas bounced his head sideways, visibly pondering her words.

"You're probably right but if it makes you feel any better, I would date a lot of goals and score a lot of girls if I could," He joked, seeing her face light up at his silliness. "See what I just did there? I am dyslexic and yet I can play with words. Isn't that very charming?" He put on his best adorable smile to gaze at Emily.

"I would only be impressed if you could make that joke in Spanish," Emily added authoritatively, but with a smile.

" _Siento_ ", Lucas joked, making her smile grow wider, enjoying the light atmosphere that was slowly taking place between them.

"Now we're getting somewhere," Emily added with good mood, before they finally focused on the topic at hand again.

.

"Do you think we should ask for time off on Thanksgiving or on Christmas?" Owen asked Amelia distractedly, looking through the closet for a shirt. "It's been two years since we last went to New York for the holidays. Your mom won't forgive another year of absence."

Amelia was quiet for a good few seconds while she fastened the button on her pants.

"Oh, so now you want my opinion on something?" She bitterly asked, making Owen laugh.

"When will you get over the dog thing, babe?" Owen came up from behind her and gave her a kiss on the back of her head. "I've already said I am sorry."

"And I accepted your apology," Amelia said with practicality, but it was obvious in the tone of her voice she wasn't over it one bit.

Amelia wanted to ask if Owen had remembered to buy the dog food but she held it back at the last second. That dog wasn't her responsibility and she definitely wasn't going to get attached to it.

"Are we carpooling to work today?" Owen knew she was angry but he was trying not to give much attention to that. He knew if he acted normally, she would go back to her regular self much sooner. "I get off at 5."

"I have a craniotomy scheduled at 3," She shared, following him down the stairs. "Shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours, though."

"I'll get the Sienna, then." Owen said, grabbing a banana while Amelia joined their children at the breakfast table.

"That beauty," Amelia rolled her eyes. She thought the car was hideous, but ever since they had to drive five kids to school daily, practicality had won over everything and years before they had finally settled for buying a Minivan.

.

"Did you get your assignments?" Missy cheerfully asked Thomas while they sat down for Literature class. It was the only class they had together that year. Missy was a good student, but she wasn't as brilliant as Thomas and hadn't made it to the AP classes yet. But the girl always made sure to take a seat next to her boyfriend whenever they were together.

"I haven't looked at it yet," Thomas replied with a nod, opening his textbook just as the teacher arrived in class.

"We got it in our email this morning," Missy explained. The students had been paired up to write book reports on four books their teacher had designated and much to Missy's dismay, they had been assigned in alphabetical order. "I got paired with Weiss," She added, apparently satisfied. "Who'd you get?"

Thomas knew it only made sense that a Melissa Van der Beek got paired up with someone whose name started with a W. Swiftly, he picked the phone from his pocket to check his own email before the teacher could notice.

Missy noticed when Thomas seemed to swallow hard and turned his eyes to his left. His gaze crossed with the one girl Missy completely antagonized with, and the gesture didn't go unnoticed. She was about to inquiry Thomas on it when he looked back to his girlfriend and said:

"Karev. I got paired up with Kate Karev."

.

Amelia rolled over on the living room couch, feeling bored. Other than spending nearly an hour on skype with her niece Zola, who now lived in France, she had done pretty much nothing since she'd been back from work. Ever since she'd had that fight with Owen about the new dog, she had been avoiding him on purpose. Amelia wasn't mad about the dog's presence anymore, but it still irritated her to think Owen had gone behind her back knowing she wouldn't like the idea at all.

Peanut had come to their house almost a week before and she had to admit the kids were doing a better job than expected. Every day, they took turns caring for the puppy and making sure he had water and food. And whenever they got home from school or their extracurricular activities, they went outside to play with the newest family member.

Everyone had bonded over the dog and Amelia was feeling lonely, because this time, she wasn't included. Well, she had to be honest and admit she hadn't included herself, but her pride was preventing her from saying it out loud. It was very quiet inside the house because the kids were enjoying the first days of the fall in the yard while it was still warm enough to spend time outside. On Friday afternoons, when both she and Owen were home, they liked to be with the kids either watching a movie or taking them out to dinner and she couldn't stand sitting there by herself for another minute.

Amelia left the couch and the boring movie she'd been watching and sneaked into the kitchen, telling herself she was thirsty but deep down she knew she was going to take a peek at what the kids were doing.

Outside, close to the back porch steps, she could clearly spot Robbie and Danny with a guitar each, while their dad joined them with his own. The three of them were sitting on folding chairs while Megan occupied a place on the stony steps, her legs folded beneath her body while she played with Peanut.

Amelia stood next to the back door, enjoying the scene playing out in front of her. A couple of years before, Owen had started teaching the twins some chords on the guitar, without pretense. Now, two years later, the boys had become increasingly better, after practicing regularly. Amelia loved how the two of them could play as if they were just one, improvising duets and complementing each other's notes. Meanwhile, Megan liked to join them on the vocals. Ever since she had started watching her favorite Disney Channel show, _Rocket Girls_ , Amelia knew her daughter had become interested in music and singing, and for nearly six months now Megan had been taking choir lessons in school.

"Mom!" One of the twins spotted her leaning on the back door and cheerfully smiled at her "Come join us!"

Amelia noticed the happiness stamped on Danny's face when he'd noticed her presence and it touched her heart deeply. She didn't have the courage to say no and her love spoke louder than her pride when she took a few steps towards the happy group.

"Mom, listen to this," Robbie adjusted his Seattle Seahawks cap, turning it backwards on his head before he resumed playing.

"Is it a show off?" Amelia asked with a smile, taking a seat next to Megan on the back porch steps.

Her sons started to play in harmony, daring each other to do better while Amelia watched them with a proud smile, wrapping Megan in her arms. She could see Owen's eyes fixated on her but she made sure not to give him the satisfaction of looking back.

"Very good," Owen clapped with enthusiasm when the twins finished the song. "Why don't you play one your sister can sing now?"

"What do you want to sing, Meg?" Danny asked, turning around to face his sister.

"Rocket Girls!" She replied excitedly. Even though both boys scowled, they did as asked and played a pop song so their little sister could sing.

About half an hour later, the kids got tired of the activity and Robbie had the brilliant idea of throwing a football in the backyard, making Peanut go crazy chasing after it. Soon it became a big joke, and Amelia watched with a smile on her face her three younger children running in circles with a puppy in their spacious backyard.

"Makes you miss when they were younger, doesn't it?" Owen said with his eyes on the kids too, keeping the same smile on his face as his wife had.

He put the folding chair aside and climbed on two steps, sitting down right behind her. Amelia knew she should be mad at him, but as the sun started to set, the air was becoming colder and she had to admit that having Owen wrapping his arms around her body while she sat between his legs felt too comfortable to complain about it.

"Still not talking to me?" Owen nipped her ear from behind her, making Amelia involuntarily smile.

"Yes," She replied, but the grin on her face made it evident she was lying.

"I see," Owen dug his face even deeper on the curve of her neck, making Amelia loudly giggle when his beard tickled her. He watched in delight as she twitched her back in response to his touch. "You're clearly very mad," He added in his most charming voice.

"I am," Amelia tried her best to keep a serious face but couldn't. She felt Owen's hand sliding on her arm and then wrapping around her waist, pulling her back against his chest as he repeatedly kissed her face from behind her.

Amelia rejoiced in the familiarity of his embrace, as every feeling of loneliness slowly vanished. Owen's hand skillfully made its way beneath her shirt, in a very familiar way. She felt his calloused masculine hands rubbing smoothly the soft skin of her stomach, laughing when he playfully squeezed her a little harder.

"Soon enough Danny is going to come here to let us know we are _not_ on a date," Owen whispered in her ear teasingly before he brushed his lips against the column of her neck. He had missed being able to kiss her whenever he wanted to.

And Owen always wanted to.

"Life with you is a constant date," Amelia sarcastically said, being cheesy on purpose. She heard Owen's heartily laughter at her nasty comment disguised as a compliment.

"You are seriously a pain in the ass," Owen tightened his arms around her with a smile, looking down to find her eyes. "Do you know how much I love you?" He playfully asked her what he usually asked his children.

"Too much," Robbie replied from a couple of meters to their side before Amelia could. He looked bored as he gazed at his parents in an obvious judgmental way, seeing how the two of them were acting silly. "You guys look like the girls in my class whispering things and giggling like pre scholars."

Amelia couldn't contain her laughter at her son's expression and heard Owen loudly saying.

"Well, then I suggest you look somewhere else, because I am about to kiss your mom."

Robbie scowled and did as told, focusing again on going after the football and the puppy with his siblings. Owen held Amelia's jaw with one hand as she gently turned sideways on the step, offering her face to him. He saw the mirth in her eyes and they exchanged a silent smile before he bent his head forward and downwards, capturing her lips on a long, loving kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Amelia shifted in her seat again, resting her back against his chest, blissfully happy to be able to spend some time with her family.

"You want to go out to dinner?" Owen asked from the top of her head.

"Sure," She replied with a smile watching as Megan tripped on Peanut, almost losing balance. "Where are Luke and Tom? It's past six. They should have been home already."

"Luke isn't back from practice yet," Owen replied.

Amelia knew the final game of the pre season championship was close and her son's coach had intensified the training. "And Tom must be out with Missy, I suppose. Hasn't he called?"

"Not that I've seen," Owen answered, seeing his wife's face growing with concern. She was about to pick up the phone to dial Thomas' number when they heard the click of the front door opening in the living room.

Owen and Amelia got up, expecting to see Thomas and ask why he hadn't called to let them know he'd be late when they were surprised to see he wasn't alone.

Instead, he walked into the living room holding hands with a tall, blonde haired girl who looked like she'd been out of a fairytale movie.

"Mom, dad," Thomas smiled shyly when he joined them outside. "You guys remember Missy, right?"

Amelia and Owen exchanged surprised looks but quickly got up from the steps, extending their hands to shake Missy's.

"Hi," Amelia tried her best to be nice. "It's good to have you here."

"Thank you, Dr. Hunt," Missy said with a smile.

"She is actually Dr. Shepherd, my dad is Dr. Hunt," Thomas commented with good humor, relieved to see his mother seemed to be trying. He knew she wasn't a big fan of his girlfriend and he was determined to change her impression about Missy.

"I'll make sure to know that next time," Missy added with a smile.

"Would you like something to drink?" Owen pointed the way to the living room politely and when Missy turned around to go, he quickly looked at Thomas, frowning his forehead in question.

Thomas shrugged in response, not sure of what his dad was really asking, but he saw a look of encouragement and that was all he needed. Soon after, his siblings joined them in the living room.

"You've met and seen in school my brothers, Daniel and Robert," Thomas introduced Missy to the twins, "And this little jewel is Megan, she is the youngest of us."

Missy said _hi_ to each one individually and took her time greeting Megan, seeing how much she looked like Thomas.

"Is your family from here, Missy?" Owen thought it would be polite to a start a conversation. He and Amelia had never been formally introduced to a girlfriend before, so this was an entire new situation for them too.

"No," Missy smiled, politely and Owen could tell she had very good manners. "I believe you know my mother from the parents committee when we were in Elementary school?" She jovially said. "She is from Atlanta. And dad is from New York. But we moved here when I was very little."

"He is from New York?" Amelia was happy to find some common ground. "Me too."

Missy nodded in agreement, and when the silence installed again in the living room, she took a sip of her iced tea.

"And do you also plan on going to an Ivy League, Missy?" Owen asked, knowing it had been left to him of breaking the awkwardness.

"Yes," Missy replied cheerfully. "My dad went to Princeton and it's his biggest dream that I go there too."

"What does he do exactly?" Amelia asked, trying not to sound too nosy.

"He is a corporate lawyer," Missy declared. "But his Manhattan firm opened a branch in Seattle and we moved here." The girl knew both Thomas' parents were surgeons, so she doubted her own parents would have much in common with them. "My mom doesn't have a career, but she spends most of her time with charity and organizing events."

"I remember your mom," Amelia said with a smile, trying to hide the fact she had dislike Missy's mom at first sight and had continued to dislike her over the course of the years. "A very polite lady."

"I'll tell her you said that," Missy tried to keep the conversation flowing.

"Are you a cheerleader?" Megan upfront asked, sounding very judgmental.

"Megan!" Thomas reprimanded her tone.

"No," Missy answered with a smile of patience. "I am not a cheerleader. I am class president, though and I organize school events."

"Everybody must hate you," Megan said, too honestly.

"Megan!" It was Owen's turn to reprimand his child, looking furiously at her.

"I meant," Megan tried to soften her attitude, justifying herself. "That you are a very beautiful girl and you are dating my brother, who is the most handsome boy in school. And he is also the smartest and most brilliant and sweetest too, to be honest. So, all the other girls must be jealous of you."

Missy exchanged looks and a smile with Thomas and both looked back at Megan. Missy saw the loving attitude of a little sister. Thomas saw the threat stamped on Megan's eyes, as if she was warning his girlfriend, instead of complimenting her.

"They are very jealous," Missy subtly winked at Megan, trying to bond with her.

Megan looked expectantly at Thomas, seeing her brother give her a discreet nod with his eyes nearly closed. She knew then that Thomas had gotten it.

Amelia was just about to add more to the conversation when she heard the front door violently opening as her oldest son stormed inside.

Lucas looked up, surprised to see his family gathered in the living room looking so formal and appropriate.

"Is there some kind of inspection here, today?" He threw his keys on the coffee table. "Why do you all look so preppy? Did I miss something?" He asked with his hands on his hips, thoroughly scanning the room and then his eyes found Thomas' girlfriend, sitting on one of the couches next to his brother. "Oh, hey, Missy, I didn't see you there."

"Hi, Luke."

Just like Thomas, Lucas had known Melissa Van derBeek since they were in elementary school. She had always been the most popular girl in school. Not only she was the prettiest, but also everyone wanted to be friends with her. Most days, it actually felt like most girls wanted to be her. Growing up, Lucas had always noticed she was beautiful, but Missywas too affected for his taste. She was a much better match for Thomas, who could put up with her appropriate manners and white collar world just as gracefully.

"Did you guys forget to invite me for a family meeting?" Lucas joked, pretending to be offended.

"It wasn't planned," Thomas justified.

"Still, it hurts me," Lucas kept his act, sitting on the couch next to his mom and wrapping one arm around her shoulder, lazily. "What's for dinner, team Hunt? I can't eat outside, I'm broke, sadly" He looked suggestively at his dad, giving him an exaggerated icy glance, making his siblings crack up. Everyone knew Owen had cut off Lucas' allowance because of his behavior earlier that month. "I'm kidding, dad, I still love you, even when you make me starve."

"You're such a drama queen," Amelia laughed, getting up from the couch. Before Thomas had arrived with Missy, they had planned to go out to dinner with the kids. She didn't see a reason why they shouldn't keep their plans and include everyone else. "Alright, go get dressed, Luke, we're going out to dinner," Then she looked suggestively at Thomas and Missy, taking a deep breath before asking, knowing she was trying her very hardest to be nice, but only in consideration to her son. "Missy, would you like to join us?"


	6. Chapter 6

**My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 6**

"You can just say what you're dying to say, babe." Owen looked at Amelia with a smile, while they both changed clothes to get ready for bed.

"There's nothing I want to say," Amelia lied.

"Oh, but you do…" Owen teased her, seeing how evident it was on her face and attitude that Amelia had a lot to talk about.

They had gone out to dinner earlier that evening with their five children and Thomas' girlfriend, Missy. It was the first time she had ever spent time with Thomas' family and Amelia, who'd had a very firm bad impression of the girl before, didn't seem to want to change her mind now.

"Ok, I'll just go ahead and say it, then." Owen started, "You're angry because even though you had built on your head this image that Missy was a monster trying to steal your son from you, it turns out she actually seems like a really nice girl."

"A really nice girl?" Amelia repeated with sarcasm.

"What's so wrong about her?" Owen rolled his eyes. At the same time he was satisfied she was finally going to say what she obviously wanted to say, he dreaded that with Amelia, things always had to be deeply analyzed. "Just face it, babe, no girl will ever be good enough for you. She could have been the most perfect girl in the world and you'd still think she's not good enough for Tom."

"But that's exactly it," Amelia stopped unbuttoning her shirt and looked at him. "Owen, _no one_ is that perfect!" She stated, sighing heavily. "I can't explain it…I just don't like this girl. There is something about her. She speaks too politely and has perfect manicured nails and that humble attitude… She doesn't fool me."

"You can't be serious!" Owen laughed at his wife's predicament. "Now you're complaining because she is too good?"

"She is not real," Amelia stated, very firmly. "No one is that good. No one is that perfect. She seduces everyone by painting that girl next door portrait but I know better. I've seen it before, many times."

"Amelia," Owen held her shoulders with both his hands, making her stop what she was doing to look at him. He understood where she was coming from but he disagreed with his wife. "Despite your antagonism towards this girl, stop plotting and stop planning. If she is a mistake, then she is Thomas' mistake to make. Stop meddling."

"That's easy for you to say," Amelia was clearly worked up. "You're a guy. You're thinking like a guy. He is sixteen and there's this pretty girl who wants to show him off like a prize, what guy wouldn't like that?" She fiercely asked "But answer me honestly…" She took a step in his direction and grabbed his index finger, painfully twitching it as if punishing Owen because he was a man. "If when Meg is sixteen, she brings home a boyfriend who you think is a jerk," Amelia saw the expression of pain on his face and she wasn't sure if it had to do with the twisted finger or the supposition that Megan would someday have a boyfriend, "would you tell me to chill because he's her mistake to learn from?"

Owen looked at her with fire in his eyes and sighed in defeat.

"I'd point a scalpel to his throat and make him leave the state in five minutes," Owen admitted.

"Good," Amelia smiled sincerely, finally letting go of his finger. "Now you get it, then."

Owen watched as she got away from him, going towards their closet in search of clean pajamas.

"You're mean when you're angry," He complained, furrowing his eyebrows. "Nasty woman."

Amelia chuckled and dug deeper into the closet, completely satisfied to have proven her point.

"You're laughing now, but you've been a nightmare to me all week," Owen went on, impatiently. "I forgave you this time, but don't think I always will."

Amelia turned around, her jaw dropped at his impertinence.

"You forgave me?" She slapped his arm. "I forgave _you_. You got a dog and didn't tell me."

"You _treated_ me like a dog all week," Owen engulfed her with his presence in the tiny closet, on purpose letting his size intimidate her. "You're too angry for someone so small."

"Oh stop the act," Amelia tried to push him with her hands. "You know how stressed I've been with the kids, the house and my job… I've been working seventy hour weeks, you expected me to what, rejoice in it?"

"So, you're stressed, huh?" Owen bent his head forward, on purpose approaching hers. He knew they weren't seriously fighting, but he also knew they needed to lash out sometimes, even about the little things. "Take off your clothes."

"What?" Amelia frowned.

"I said," Owen punctuated every word, speaking calmly and very demandingly."Get naked."

Amelia looked up at him and saw the fire in his icy blue eyes. His jaw was hardened and he was dangerously close to her. When Owen talked to her so possessively, she found it absolutely exciting. Amelia could clearly see where he was trying to go and his attitude was becoming a big turn on.

Slowly, she finished unbuttoning her shirt, seductively biting her bottom lip. Amelia could see he noticed it, because his eyes immediately went from her own to her mouth. Just as she thought Owen was about to kiss her, he grabbed the clean pajama top she'd been holding and commanded:

"Go to bed and lie on your stomach," His voice was nearly a whisper. "You won't need this." Owen added with authority, as he threw the piece of cloth back on the shelf.

Amelia was completely seduced by the way he was looking at her and slowly, she finished stripping her clothes and went to bed, doing exactly as she'd been told. The room was dark after Owen turned off the lights so she couldn't see his movements around her. Only when she felt the mattress softly descending on her left side, she sensed where he was.

Amelia felt shivers running down her spine when his breathing touched her back. She knew his lips were very close to her body because she could feel his breath on her skin. When she least expected it, his teeth mercilessly scratched her, making Amelia twitch her muscles in response. Soon after, she felt Owen's enormous hand rubbing her shoulders, slowly. What he was doing was amazingly relaxing and erotic at the same time. She could very well feel the blood flowing to her lower abdomen while the stress of the entire week dissipated as he continued to touch her.

Owen took his time massaging her back, slowly descending to her hips and then making it back to her shoulders. He could feel her melting under his touch and he smiled with pride, knowing she deserved to be spoiled after the long weeks she'd been having. Gently, he bent down and leaned over her shoulder, kissing the side of her face, with adoration in his eyes.

"How did I ever get so lucky to have such a gorgeous woman in my bed every night?" His hand ran on her neck and jaw, gently turning her face to him, while he forced her to slightly roll over.

Amelia opened her eyes and met his. She smiled lovingly at him, able to look into his eyes despite the darkness of the room.

"You deserve the very best," She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, bringing his face closer to hers. "You know what?" She gave him a peck on the lips before pulling apart slightly, just to look into his eyes. "I love you."

Owen's lips curved into a smile and he chuckled before crushing her lips with his own. His tongue searched for hers before he could think about it, losing trail of every thought as he deepened their kiss. Amelia felt his hand closing on one of her breasts while her finger dug into the curls on the back of his neck, gently scratching his scalp. Owen broke their kiss and lifted his head up, looking into her eyes very suggestively.

"I am not done with you yet." He affirmed playfully, letting his hand trace the path from her breasts to the middle of her thighs. "Our massage is just getting started," He added with a dirty grin, before touching Amelia on the most sensitive spot of her body.

When she moaned his name in response, Owen pressed his finger harder against her, seeing how delirious with desire he was driving her. Her eyes were closed and her chin was slightly up as Amelia bit her bottom lip, trying to keep what little control she had left. Owen couldn't help himself and glued his lips to the side of her neck, nipping and sucking her skin while he felt her instantly wrap her arms around his head again, pulling him even closer.

"I love you too," Owen whispered against the curve of her chin, keeping his hand steadily working on her body. "So damn much…"

His words added to the amazing sensations his finger were causing on her body, making Amelia explode in fits of pleasure that reached her entire being. When she felt it finally subsiding, she was about to gasp for air when Owen's lips covered hers again.

Amelia felt him shifting to her top while he got rid of his own clothes. In a matter of seconds, Owen was fully inside of her, moving his hips with experienced ease while caressing the sides of her face.

Amelia touched her forehead to his and smiled against his lips.

"Nothing feels as good as having you inside me," She confessed, feeling his body harden at her words. "Keep going, babe, I'm almost there again…"

Stimulated by her gentle plea, Owen struck her harder and faster, reaching his own climax seconds before she did. After a few minutes, when the rush was finally over, he moved from her top to her side, keeping his wife firmly trapped in his arms.

"I love it when we have dirty sex," Amelia confessed, chuckling against him. She bent over in his direction, resting her head on his chest while his fingers gently caressed her hair. She took her hand to his stomach and slowly rubbed her thumb on his skin, enjoying being so close to her husband. "But it's amazing how you can perfectly tell when I'm in the mood for it, or when I'm in need of something like what we just did today."

"I'll save the dirty sex for the weekend," Owen smiled at her, seeing the love in her eyes. She had been distant from him for the past week and he fully intended to make up for it. "Get some rest now, babe. You've been working too much. You deserve it."

Amelia didn't need to hear it twice. She closed her eyes at the sound of his voice, almost instantly embarking on a calm, restoring sleep in the loving arms of her husband.

.

Thomas felt his breathing get heavier. His girlfriend had met him in the school library, in one of the most distant corridors so they could have privacy and now that he was pressed between her and a heavy book case, he felt his entire body tingling with sensations that were completely new and intensely exciting.

Without much thought, his hand made its way from her waist to her back and slowly to her bottom. He couldn't help feeling frustrated when Missy suddenly pulled apart.

"I'm sorry," He sighed heavily, angry at himself. "I didn't mean to."

Thomas was embarrassed to explain he had lost all his rationality because of how his body was responding to her touch.

"You know we can't do that," Missy looked at him with disapproval but her voice was overly sweet when she added. "I want to wait, you know that."

"I know," Thomas watched her take one step back and bent down to get his school bag, completely mesmerized to pay close to her actions. "I respect it… I just," He blushed, not knowing how to feel. "I got too caught up. It won't happen again."

"Okay," Missy smiled at him.

"I have to go now," He took a peek at his wrist watch, seeing he was running late. "Lit project."

Missy's expression went from satisfied to obviously irritated.

"With your friend Kate?"

"Missy…" Thomas sighed impatiently. He knew the girl was jealous of Kate and he couldn't help feeling crossed at the idea. After all, Kate had been his friend much longer than Missy had been his girlfriend and it was unfair of Missy to ask him to not see or talk to her anymore.

"I know, I know…" Missy nearly pouted. "It's not your fault you got paired up with her. I just don't like the idea of sharing you," She seductively said, leaning in to kiss him. When Thomas was sure his body was going to betray him again, Missy pulled apart, looking at him with innocence as if unaware of what she was doing. She blew him a kiss before saying goodbye, leaving with a mischievous smile on her face after turning around.

Thomas was frustrated and disappointed when he finally made it to the familiar house next to the hospital where both his parents worked. He rang the doorbell, surprised to see a familiar face opening the door.

"Hey Tommy," Jo Wilson greeted him. "I haven't seen in you in a while. Come in."

Thomas nodded with a smile and entered the living room which he'd been in countless times in his life.

"Kate is upstairs in her room," Jo added, joyfully. "You can go there. I'm taking the night shift today but there's stuff in the fridge if you guys get hungry," She pointed to the kitchen while she grabbed her purse. "It was good seeing you."

"Same, Dr. Wilson."

Thomas watched as his best friend's mom exited the house and then slowly made his way upstairs. Gently, he knocked on the door, hearing a muffled "come in," in response.

"Hi," He sheepishly started, not sure of what else to say.

Kate was lying down on her stomach with headphones in her ears, but quickly sat down on the bed when she saw him.

"Hey," She greeted him, too formally. She stared at him, waiting for his next move but since Thomas stood silently watching her, the tension was becoming almost unbearable, so Kate had to say something. "Have you started writing the reports?"

"Hm, not yet," Thomas unhooked his bag from his shoulder and sat down on her study chair, going through his things while he added. "I supposed you'd want to do it together?"

"Well, it is a team project, after all." Kate said, more to herself than to him.

Thomas looked up at her and she shrugged.

"Let's just get this started, ok?" The girl suggested.

For the following two hours, Thomas worked on their reports alongside Kate. She never failed to impress him with how smart and creative she was. It was easy working with Kate because she always improved his suggestions or added more thoughts to his own. Tom felt like they complemented each other's work and it was invigorating to be around someone who could intellectually challenge him.

"I'm going to the bathroom and then I can get us some snacks, how do you feel about a sandwich?" Kate asked with her usual practicality.

"As long as you wash your hands in between, I'd love that." Thomas smiled at her.

"Very funny," She rolled her eyes at him but Thomas could swear he saw her smiling as she turned around.

When Kate left, Thomas couldn't help scanning his eyes around her bedroom. Everything was decorated in lavender and white and all the furniture and objects were harmoniously organized and tidy. He had been in that room many times in his childhood, but he had never really stopped to notice the details.

Turning around on Kate's chair desk, Thomas noticed a small pin board with some notes and photos attached on it. He saw an image of Kate right in the middle, realizing it had been taken on her trip to New York. Her dark brown hair, delicate figure and chestnut eyes looked even prettier with the intense scenario around her and Thomas couldn't help looking further.

He noticed among some handwritten quotes and a colorful calendar that, hidden beneath the pinned objects, there was a small photograph of him with Kate. They shouldn't have been older than eleven or twelve in that picture and attached to it, he found an old piece of wrapping paper. It was emerald green and Thomas frowned for a second, thinking he had seen the object before. It had a distinct quote stamped in bright yellow and Thomas smiled when he read the lines of one of his favorite poems: _I carry your heart with me. I carry it in my heart_. Then he noticed his own handwriting on the top corner of the piece, where he'd marked it _Kate_ in black letters.

"What are you doing?"

Kate's voice sounded sharp and angry and Thomas turned around very fast, feeling as if he had just been caught in the act.

"Nothing, I was just seeing your pictures."

Kate put the tray of snacks she was carrying on her own bed and stormed to her desk, frowning when she saw the discovery Thomas had made beneath all the layers of notes and pictures. She seemed embarrassed and frustrated, but mostly, she seemed very angry.

"Don't you know the concept of privacy?"

Thomas looked down, feeling ashamed of himself but then he thought about the situation and realized he had nothing to be sorry about.

"It's a pin board, Kate, it's exposed there for people to see it."

"No, it's not."

"Why do you have that piece of wrapping paper there?" He frowned, seeing the candy brand stamped on the back of the object. They had eaten dozens of candy bars like that, laughed about the quotes and thrown them in the trash not too long after. He wondered why Kate had held onto that one.

But when Thomas remembered his own handwriting had been added to it, supposing it must have had a special meaning, a flash of memory came to his mind.

" _You should keep this one forever," His twelve year old self told Kate._

" _Why?" The girl asked with a smile._

" _Because when we're grownups and I marry you, I'll read that entire poem to you on our wedding day."_

He looked again at Kate and had no doubts that same scene was playing in her mind. She looked embarrassed and furious at the same time, as if she was finding it hard to contain her anger and her shame.

"Maybe you should go," Kate added, turning her back to him. She felt too embarrassed to look at Thomas at that moment.

Thomas gathered his notes and books, ready to do so. But he was feeling his heart so constricted, he couldn't help himself. He had to know.

"Why did you keep it, Kate?"

"It's old and it doesn't matter, Thomas. I think you should go now, it's late." She tried to distract him.

"If it's not important, then why did you keep it?" He took a step in her direction, even though Kate had her back turned to him.

"It's been there ever since you gave it to me, I didn't think about it and it just stayed there."

"But there must be some reason why you put it there once." He stated the obvious, knowing he was pressuring her. "Why did you?"

Long seconds passed before Kate finally turned around. And when she did, Thomas noticed how red her eyes had become and how anguished she looked. Her voice was filled with hurt and hurt only when she finally spoke.

"Because when you gave it to me," Kate confessed, feeling like a fool. "I actually believed what you said."

Thomas was taken aback by her blunt confession. He didn't know what to say but he was feeling like the worst person on earth. Kate was visibly on the verge of crying and nothing had ever made him feel as bad as seeing her like that. Especially knowing he was the one causing it.

"I did mean it then." He confessed. When they'd been kids, he was absolutely sure he would grow up and marry her. Kate was his best friend and his favorite person to be around. His innocent childhood brain had always assumed that when people found their favorite people, they married them.

"It doesn't matter now," Kate pulled herself together. She walked over to the pin board, collected the wrapping paper and tore it in two, throwing the pieces in the trash like it was an insignificant token. "It was great working with you, Thomas. I'm sure we'll get an A. I'll get back to you on that last report no longer than tomorrow, ok?"

Thomas knew that was her way of telling him to go. With no other choice but to leave, he agreed with her plan with a head nod and silently made his way to the door.

"I'll be waiting for it," He said, finally leaving.

And when Thomas reached the door, never in his life would he have thought he'd leave that house even more frustrated and disappointed than when he had first arrived.

.

Amelia heard her cell phone insistently ringing. Excusing herself from the morning rounds, she went to the hospital corridor, worrying when she noticed the call was coming from their children's school.

Thirty minutes later, she was driving back home with Danny by her side in the car. He had complained of throat pain and muscle soreness to the school nurse, and by the time Amelia got there she noticed that in fact he didn't look very well.

"I'm sorry you had to leave work because of this, mom." Danny said, honestly. He knew his mother was often very busy and it wasn't midday yet. She probably had surgeries to perform and patients to see.

"Oh, honey, don't worry about it, you are way more important," She confessed, caressing his hair gently, worried about his condition. "I'll get you some medication for the pain," Amelia added while she helped him get off his school uniform to put on his more comfortable clothes. "Wait, baby, turn around."

As Danny had stripped down to his underwear, Amelia noticed the slight rash that was forming on his abdomen and already present on his back. Unsurprisingly, all of her children had very fair skin, which made the red spots look even more evident.

"Oh, sweet lord," She was torn between amusement and worry. "Danny, open your mouth."

Amelia picked up one of her flashlight pens from her bag and examined her son's throat with care.

"Yup," She admitted, somberly. "Looks like we've got ourselves a pretty bad case of Mono."

.

When Owen made it home that evening, things weren't looking better for Danny. In fact, his fever had spiked several times and the skin rash had spread all over his body.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" Owen crouched down before him on the living room couch, seeing how terrible his thirteen year old son looked.

"Like I'm about to die," Danny hoarsely confessed, finding it hard to talk. "My throat hurts. Everything hurts."

"Well, that's what you get for sharing saliva," Robbie teased, laughing at his brother's predicament. The twins had learned not long ago in science class that mononucleosis was typically called "The Kiss Disease" because of the way it spread.

"You're very supportive," Owen chuckled, ruffling Robbie's hair playfully before leaving both boys to keep watching their show.

He made his way to the kitchen, seeing Amelia sorting out medication on the kitchen counter while Megan did her homework by the table.

"He is not looking good," Owen commented.

"Yeah, poor Dan," Amelia looked up at him. "I spent the entire day trying to make his fever go down but you know the drill. He's going to be like this for a few days."

"Did he eat?" Owen asked, concerned.

"Not much," His wife sighed heavily. "Do you want to see if you can get him to eat at least a snack or some piece of fruit? I know his throat hurts but he can't starve himself."

Owen laughed at Amelia's exaggeration. She was a typical mother, and he was proud of her for it.

"Did Danny get sick because he kissed a girl?" Megan asked from the corner she was sitting. When both her parents looked conspicuously at her, she confessed. "That's what Rob said."

"Well, Robbie is a smart mouth," Amelia censored, taking one pill from the drug box. She and Owen exchanged looks and she knew he was thinking the same thing he was: Danny's date.

"Give me," Owen stretched out a hand to get the pill from Amelia's hand. "Maybe some chocolate milk will help? You know he loves that stuff."

To Amelia's satisfaction, Owen was right, because Danny drank almost all the chocolate, together with his medicine. Owen helped him get upstairs and after picking up Lucas and Thomas from soccer and tennis practice, respectively, he finally relaxed in his bed at the end of the day.

Much to his surprise, it was almost 11 pm when the door to his room opened. Expecting to see Amelia, he turned around ready to ask about Danny but saw the other twin getting inside the room with a heavy frown on his face, obviously frustrated.

"What?" He asked, seeing Robbie sighing impatiently.

"Mom kicked me out," He confessed, "of my _own bed_."

Owen couldn't help cracking up with Robbie's irritation and watched in silence as his son got into his bed, on the spot Amelia usually slept him. It didn't surprise him his wife would want to spend the night close to their sick son in case he needed something.

"You don't snore, do you?" Robbie looked sideways to his father, smiling mischievously.

"Only when mom isn't here," Owen looked at him, teasingly, making his son laugh.

"This is a pretty comfy bed," Robbie bounced up and down, obviously enjoying himself. "I had never noticed how cool it was."

Owen looked at the dark brown wooden bed. Even though they had changed the mattress a few times, the bed had remained intact during all those years. He could vividly remember the day he'd bought it and his mind was assaulted by countless memories of things that had happened on there.

"Have I ever told you about the day we got this bed?" He turned his neck to look at Robbie, completely forgetting about the book he'd been reading. When his son shook his head in denial, Owen continued. "We had an older one but mom found out it was infested with termites. She nearly set fire to it."

"She what?" Robbie asked, laughing in surprise.

"She was very emotionally attached to it because of your uncle Derek." Robbie hadn't met his uncle but he'd heard about him during his entire life. "So she didn't want to get rid of it. But after exhaustively talking her into it, we got a new bed that very same day. And right now you're sitting right on it."

"That's so cool, dad." Robbie confessed, inspecting the bed frame. "It's awesome that it lasted all these years."

"A lot of things lasted all these years, bud," Owen stated with a proud smile, more to himself than to Robbie. When he thought back about the time he and Amelia had first started their lives together, he reveled in how far they'd come, even when the odds hadn't been in their favor. "But now you need to close your eyes and get some rest, alright? Do I need to ask how much I love you?"

"Too much," Robbie replied automatically, pulling the covers.

"That's right." Owen leaned over and gave him a kiss on the head before finally turning off the lights in the room.

Hey guys, thank you all so much for your support. I'd love to hear what you all think about this!

Also, if you want to read about the time Amelia nearly set fire to a bed, you can read it right here:

s/12106163/2/My-Boys-Drabbles


	7. Chapter 7

**My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 7**

When Robbie woke up the following morning, he felt a tingling sensation in his throat. By noon, his entire body was aching, a rash was starting to form and he had the first spike of a fever.

"You guys…" Amelia sighed, wiping her forehead in distress. She was on the living room of her own house, watching her sons as they wrapped themselves in blankets, each on a different couch. It was killing her to see them in such a bad shape. "Isn't the pain any better?"

"It's better, but not gone," Robbie replied hoarsely and Amelia saw the dark circles around his eyes. "Mom," The boy frowned, hesitating. "How did I catch this? I swear to God, I didn't kiss Sarah!"

"Robbie!" Danny complained, with difficulty to speak, obviously dreading that thought.

Amelia let out a sad chuckle and proceeded to take three steps into the living room, sitting on the couch where Robbie was lying on his back.

"I know, sweetheart… It might have nothing to do with Sarah," She turned around and gave Danny a look of reassurance. "This virus spreads by saliva. You might have caught it from just talking to someone and then passed it to each other." Amelia knew the virus for Mononucleosis was highly spread in population and pretty much everyone caught it at some point.

"What?" Robbie sat on the couch, a look of disbelief on his face. "He gave me mono?!" He pointed at his twin brother.

Amelia laughed and looked at her son.

"He didn't give you anything, there's no way of knowing…" Amelia ran her thumb on Robbie's cheek tenderly and smiled at him. "But you guys sure look cute with the red spots," She teased them, watching as Robbie frowned and pulled the blanket to cover his entire face.

"I don't want to be seen like this."

Amelia heard Robbie's muffled voice coming from beneath the covers and couldn't help cracking up at their situation. It was going to be a long day.

.

"You're seriously unbelievable!"

Lucas watched as Emily stormed off, unable to contain his laughter.

"I'm sorry," He gently pulled her by the arm, stopping her from escaping.

"Hunt!" She looked deeply into her eyes. "As of this moment, I am _not_ your tutor anymore!" The girl added very decisively, turning her back to him again.

Lucas hurried up to catch up with her, his laughter slowly subsiding.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble, but..."

"You got us kicked out of the library!" She exploded, interrupting him. "You got _me_ kicked out! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?"

Lucas shrugged off, finding it hard to understand why that was bothering her so much. They had been in their typical spot studying Spanish when Emily had started teaching him verbs. He had found the way she spoke them too funny not to laugh and because he was being loud, the grumpy librarian had thrown them out without a second notice.

"She should be embarrassed," He joked, referring to the elderly lady. "We were pretty much the only ones there. Now she's going to have a hard time keeping her job if the library is empty."

"You're unbelievable," Emily repeated. "Bye," She said, in a decisive tone, already turning around to be on her way.

"Wait, Spencer," Lucas chased after her for the third time in less than two minutes. "Listen," He tried to be reasonable. "You have to help me. You're the only one who can."

"That's your problem, not mine." Emily tried not to be affected by his words.

"But it is," Lucas improvised, trying to buy some time so he could convince her. Emily really was the best teacher he had ever had and he couldn't afford losing her. She was too good for him. "You've been tutoring me for the past two weeks," He reasoned. "Everyone in school knows you're my Spanish tutor," Lucas added, with a mischievous grin. "Now, no one expects me to do well, anyways… But," Lucas smirked proudly, "if I fail my Spanish test, it's going to reflect badly on you." He gave her a corner smile, seeing how her expression had changed from angry to worried. "And you can't afford that, can you? The teachers are going to think you're a quitter. Do you really want to quit, Spencer?" Lucas bent down a little to be at the same height as her, looking deeply into her eyes on purpose. "Are you a quitter?" He asked very incisively, trying not to laugh at how well his talk was working, judging by the look on her face. "I don't think you are."

Emily stood completely frozen for long seconds and Lucas could swear he saw her swallowing hard.

"Damn you, Hunt!" She punched his arm without warning, making Lucas flinch with the blow. "You deserved it," She added, noticing she had caused him pain.

"Probably," Lucas smiled widely at her, walking by her side on the school corridor.

"So, what do we do now?" Emily tried to be reasonable. "We can't use the library and I didn't reserve a study room for us. It's raining outside, so we can't use the patio either."

"We can go to my house," Lucas innocently suggested.

"I'm not going to your house!" She scowled at him, defensively.

"Why not?" Lucas thought it was the perfect solution. "I live five blocks away from here, it's a ten minute walk."

"In the rain?" She raised one eyebrow at him.

"Well, do you have a better suggestion, Mrs "I've got everything figured out"?" Lucas asked, with pretend impatience.

Emily couldn't hold her laughter and looked at him, seeing the smile on his face too.

"Alright," She gave in, still unsure about that. "But if you so much as…"

"I know," Lucas cut her off, noticing her adorable short height. "I've got it," He said decisively, grabbing the books from her hand and leading the way for her in the school hall, without giving Emily time to change her mind.

.

"Damn it," Amelia whispered, hearing her cell phone buzzing for the fourth or fifth time. It was nearly three pm and she'd spent the entire day at home taking care of her sick twins, just as the day before.

"Is it the hospital, mom?" Robbie asked with concern.

"Don't worry about it, baby." Amelia said, finishing taking Danny's temperature.

"If you have to go, we'll be fine," The boy insisted.

"Yeah, mom," Danny reinforced.

"I don't have to go," Amelia insisted, knowing it would be a disaster if she kept ignoring the pages. But her sons were more important and she couldn't leave them alone in the house being that sick. "But maybe I'll call grandma and see if she can come over for a few minutes while I take a quick run to see what's happening there."

The minute Amelia got up to go dial Evelyn's number, the front door opened and she spotted Lucas walking in, followed by a teenage girl she'd never seen. Amelia didn't let Lucas bring random girls into the house but before she could think about it, she heard her son explaining:

"Hey mom, didn't know you were here," He frowned but then smiled. "This is Emily Spencer, my tutor," Amelia had heard about the girl who was apparently getting through to Lucas and nodded gratefully, relieved to see it wasn't one of Lucas' dates. "These are my brothers," Lucas pointed to the twins but then noticed how they looked and frowned in shock. They were obviously not okay. "When did you two get syphilis?"

"Lucas!" Amelia reprimanded him, outraged. "I am sorry, Emily, he is a nutcase," Amelia sighed, trying to keep serious while giving Lucas a censoring look. "Why are you home so early, I thought you were going to study for your test?"

"I am," Lucas said and then looked at Emily, seeing how embarrassed she looked. "But there were some, uh, technical difficulties at the library and we were left with no place to study. So we came here."

"Ok, then," Amelia listened to him distractedly while calling Evelyn. "Urgh, your grandma isn't picking up."

"You should go, mom, we'll be fine," Robbie reassured her one more time.

"Yeah, we'll be okay," Danny added.

Lucas immediately picked up on the situation.

"Go, mom, I can take care of them," He added with an evil smile.

"Lucas…"

"No, really, it's fine," Lucas changed his playful voice to a serious one. "I'll be here studying with Emily and if anything happens, I'll call you or dad."

Amelia let out her breath, slowly. Truth was, judging by the messages she was getting, she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

"Alright, fine," She picked up her purse and car keys. "I'll look for dad on my way in and see if he can make it home earlier. If anything, _anything_ happens, you call me," She grabbed Lucas' chin and looked straight into his eyes, in her most intimidating manner. "I called Tom earlier and he is going to pick up Meg for me. You two behave," She looked conspicuously at the twins. "Emily, I am so sorry I can't give you any more attention, things are a little rushed here as you can see," Amelia said in a hurry. "But thank you for everything you're doing for Luke. I'll see you guys later, ok?" She added, when she made it to the door, "I love you." Amelia exited but before she could make it the car, she returned "If anything happens…"

"We'll call you," Lucas interrupted her before she could finish. "We'll be fine, mom, go!"

She let out a nervous chuckle and finally left.

"We'll be in the kitchen," Lucas warned Robbie and Danny. "If you guys need anything, yell, but if it's unreasonable I'll post your picture with the hashtag STD."

The twins laughed, already used to their oldest brother's manners but Emily looked at him, scandalized. Lucas shrugged and led the way to the kitchen for her. The girl couldn't help noticing how beautiful Lucas' house was. Everything was spacious and well decorated. While she'd been in the living room, with one quick look around she spotted several pictures of obvious happy family moments.

"I didn't know you had so many brothers," Emily commented, taking a seat at a big square table while Lucas went to the fridge, "I only knew Thomas." She added. Thomas Hunt was the sweetest guy in their school and everyone liked him.

"I have three brothers and a little sister," Lucas explained, while getting two glasses from the cabinet above the sink. "They all go to our school, but the twins are in eighth grade and Megan is in fourth grade, I think." He wasn't really sure. "What about you?" Lucas joined her at the table, handing her a glass of iced tea. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Just one sister," Emily said dismissively, taking a sip from her glass. "Your mom is very pretty. She seems really nice."

"Yeah, she is awesome," Lucas smiled, seeing the girl was being honest. He unzipped the bag and got their books while adding "My mom is the most amazing person I know. She is the best."

"You guys seem close," Emily noticed, opening the book on the page they'd stopped earlier.

"Yeah, we're pretty tight," Lucas looked into her eyes questioningly. He couldn't imagine someone not having a close relationship to their own parents so Emily's comment made him wonder about her own family. "Aren't you close with your folks?" He asked, while emptying his glass.

"Yeah, we are close," Emily replied but the way she looked away while answering made Lucas wonder if she was telling the truth. "Ok, where did we stop?"

.

For the following two hours, Lucas made a lot of progress with Spanish verbs. Amelia called a total of four times in less than three hours to ask if everything was okay. Not too long after, Thomas got home with Megan, who happily sat down at the kitchen table with her eldest brother and Emily, supposedly to do her own homework. But Lucas knew she was actually running a close inspection on the unknown girl at her side.

"Hey Tommy," Lucas balanced his chair on its two back legs, so he could stretch his neck and look into the living room, where Thomas was sitting with his computer on the couch. "Do you have any money? I am starving."

"You're in the kitchen," Thomas looked sideways, meeting his brother's gaze. "Eat."

"But there is nothing _to_ eat," Lucas frowned, grumpily. "Didn't mom and dad leave some money for us to order something?"

"I don't think they knew they'd be stuck at work this long," Thomas added. It was almost dinner time and to be honest he was getting quite hungry too.

"Hey, Meg, do you have money?" Lucas looked at his little sister, who stared back at him with impatience. "What, I know you have savings in that turtle safe in your room!"

"I am saving money to buy the new Rocket Girls videogame, you know that."

"Just eat a sandwich," Thomas suggested from a distance, watching as the twins were bickering for the remote control. "I'm sure mom and dad won't be long."

"Luke is always hungry," Megan clarified for Emily.

"Yes, I've noticed," The teenager smiled back at Megan sincerely.

"But he is taking me to wait in the line for the new videogame release next week," Megan decided with a charming smile, trying to talk Lucas into it. "That's why he is my favorite brother."

The boy identified the bribe in Megan's words.

"She says that to all of us," He rolled his eyes playfully, "Last week Thomas was her favorite because he let her eat his Reese peanut butter cups."

"What?" Megan acted outraged. "You can't buy loyalty," She quoted, very seriously. "Not with chocolate."

"And the week before, Robbie was her favorite because he let her take his iPad for a sleepover," Thomas added from the living room, taking part in the conversation.

Emily laughed, exchanging looks of camaraderie with the little girl who surely knew her way around the house with four boys.

"Ugh, I am starved!" Lucas got up and opened the double door fridge. "I want real food."

"Well, make it then," Emily suggested. They had just finished studying and she was gathering the notes for him. "That is a big fridge. I am sure there are a lot of groceries in it."

"Do you seriously think I can cook?" Lucas looked at her, feeling his mood wasn't improving.

"It's not rocket science." Emily stated, as if that was obvious.

"Well, then please be my guest," Lucas pointed out to the fridge and the pantry, very suggestively.

Megan looked up expectantly at Emily. When the girl looked into Lucas' eyes to see if he really meant it, she found a desperate plea too.

"Mom just called and told us to order dinner because she and dad will be a little late," Thomas came into the kitchen from the living room. "She said there's enough money on her nightstand for two pizzas."

"But we have a better alternative," Lucas pleaded, looking charmingly into Emily's eyes.

"Alright, fine!" She gave in, getting up, seeing how desperate he was. "What do you guys want to eat?"

Emily was surprised when Megan took her by the hand and led her to the kitchen isle, showing everything around. She had never really been around kids but Lucas' little sister seemed to have liked her and that touched Emily deeper than she would have thought.

Forty minutes later, both Amelia and Owen made it home, instantly recognizing the amazing smell of fresh food that was present everywhere. Danny and Robbie were sitting on the couch, each with a bowl of spaghetti in their hands. Amelia frowned in surprise and relief. The twins had a sore throat and hadn't eaten well in the past couple of days, so it was great to see them finally having a decent meal.

She looked inquiringly to her twin sons, hearing the explanation from Danny:

"Lucas' friend cooked dinner."

Owen and Amelia exchanged glances of surprise and Owen stayed checking up on the twins while Amelia made it to the kitchen, seeing Lucas, Thomas and Megan collecting plates from the table and doing dishes.

"Whoa, this smells great," She said with a smile of approval, looking from her son's tutor to Lucas. She inspected the dishes, seeing the pasta had apparently been a huge success. Frowning heavily at their children, who had never showed interest in culinary before, she asked, amazed. "Did you guys do all this?"

"I helped," Lucas replied with pride, receiving looks of incredulity from his brother and sister. "But Spencer here did most of the work."

"I didn't mean to take over your kitchen, Mrs. Hunt," Emily said humbly, worried Lucas' parents might think she was being too intrusive.

"Oh don't worry, it's me who should be thanking you, I had no idea I'd take so long at the hospital and there was nothing for you guys to eat…" She looked to Lucas' tutor, obviously satisfied. "You got Rob and Dan to eat, so you guys could have turned my house upside down and I still would have liked it."

The girl gave her a sympathetic nod, obviously embarrassed.

"There's some left if you and dad are hungry, mom." Thomas informed her, following Megan to the living room.

"Good to know," Amelia approved. "Did you guys study hard?" She asked Lucas, obviously interested. "Are you ready for the algebra test?"

"What algebra test?" Emily frowned to Lucas.

"I have a quiz tomorrow," He confessed.

"Hunt!" She reprimanded him. "You spent the entire afternoon learning Spanish when you have an algebra test tomorrow?" She asked, torn between worry and disbelief.

"Well, you said that if I missed any of your tutoring dates, you would discontinue me from the tutoring program!" He justified.

"I meant if you skipped them on purpose!" Emily let out a heavy sigh, preoccupied. "What are you going to do now? It's almost seven o'clock."

"Study, I guess," He declared, obviously not looking forward to it.

"Lucas, you should have planned better," Amelia lectured him, also worrying.

"What's going to be on the quiz?" Emily asked, decisively. "Show me your books."

"You're not my math tutor, Spencer," Lucas was touched by her effort, "You don't have to do this."

"Give me the books, Hunt." Emily said, with her bossiest tone.

Amelia looked from one teenager to the other and realizing she was getting in the middle of something, sneaked out of the room, taking her time only to get a bowl of spaghetti first.

.

"My brain is twisting in knots," Lucas propped his head on his elbows, sighing heavily.

"It's okay, you'll do fine," Emily assured him, touched by his effort. It was almost ten pm and they'd been incessantly going over his topics for the following morning test. Even though Lucas was obviously struggling with the content, he hadn't once made a complaint or talked about giving up. And after so many hours, the girl could clearly see he had made remarkable progress.

"I don't have enough words to thank you," He looked up and met her gaze.

"It's alright," Emily brushed it off, breaking eye contact with him.

"It's so late in the night and I've kept you all day. You have no obligation to do this, but you stayed. I really am grateful, Spencer," Lucas insisted, without any agenda.

"Don't worry about it," She smiled shyly. "I had a good time today. I should go now," She decided, getting up to gather her things.

"Where do you live?" Lucas asked, helping her collect the objects. "I'll give you a ride."

"No, there's no need," Emily promptly replied.

"It's the least I can do," Lucas humbly said. "Or at least let me call you a cab?"

"No, it's alright, I'll just take the bus," Emily replied embarrassingly. She didn't want to tell him she didn't have enough money to pay for a cab.

"The bus, are you insane?" Lucas denied "I'm driving you home, there's no fighting that."

The boy disappeared into the kitchen stairs and in less than a minute was back holding car keys.

"My dad let me borrow his car, come on, let's go," He showed her the way to the back door.

.

"I'll be worried about Luke now," Amelia said, peeking through the window, seeing her son drive off to take Emily home. "It's kind of late for him to be out with the car."

"Well, what were we suppose to do?" Owen asked, concerned. "We couldn't let the girl go home by herself this late. Especially not after what she's done for him."

"Yeah, you're right," Amelia agreed, going back to the bed. "She seems nice. I hope Lucas doesn't pull a Lucas on her." She added, knowing Owen understood exactly what she meant.

Megan was settled in the middle of her parents, hugging a pillow while she played a silly game on her dad's phone.

"You're very much your dad's daughter," Amelia teasingly disapproved of Megan taking up so much space. They had a huge king size bed and yet Megan made herself comfortable taking up a big chunk of it. "Get over there," She playfully pushed Megan towards Owen's side, making the girl laugh.

Owen wrapped one arm around his daughter, watching TV as the girl snuggled up next to him.

"Mom?" Megan's voice echoed a few minutes later, interrupting Amelia's reading. The neurosurgeon took her eyes off the journal she was reviewing and looked up at her daughter. "Why does Claire already have a bra and I don't?"

Amelia watched as Owen immediately took his eyes off the TV and looked at her, clearly in shock by Megan's question.

"What do you mean, baby?" Amelia furrowed her eyebrow, wondering where that question was coming from.

"Well, Claire told me today she was wearing a bra," Megan looked from her mom's eyes to her flat chest. "When will I get to wear a bra too?"

Amelia noticed Owen's obvious discomfort and wanted to laugh at the situation.

"Well, baby, you see, it's not the same for every girl," Amelia tried to sound as natural as possible. She and Owen had always made sure their kids could talk to them about absolutely everything so it didn't impress her that Megan asked those questions so naturally. "Claire's body will develop in its own rhythm and so will yours. You're both still very young and maybe Claire's body is starting to change."

"But when will I have breasts?" Megan inquired, looking from the phone screen to her mom and back. She threw one leg over Owen's thigh, clearly making herself comfortable.

"Probably not for a while," Amelia smiled at her daughter. "But when your body starts to change, you'll notice."

"Was that what happened to you?"

"Yes. And to every girl." Amelia said with a sweet voice, but all she wanted to do was laugh at Owen's expression of excruciating pain.

"Okay, mom, but I want a bra." Megan decided, pressing the phone screen, obviously much more focused on the game than on the conversation.

"I'll ask dad to get you one," Amelia couldn't help teasing, seeing Owen's face blush immediately.

"Ok, it's time for bed!" Owen abruptly got up, watching his daughter's protest as he took the phone from her hands. "Give mom a kiss and I'll tuck you in," He proposed, desperate to get out of that conversation.

Megan did as told, getting a kiss and a hug from her mom before standing up on the mattress and jumping to the floor.

Owen gave Amelia a deadly glare before following the girl to her room. He gave his daughter a kiss goodnight and put her in bed. Soon after, he went to Thomas' room to check on him and finally to the twins', not surprised to see Amelia was already there.

He watched as she checked their temperature and gave them pills for their aching throat, whispering loving words to both boys before turning off the lights in the room.

"Let's hear it," She teased her husband when she closed the door to the twins' room after them, foreseeing Owen would complain about the conversation they'd had with their daughter.

"This is not funny," Owen followed her to their bedroom.

"Babe, she is growing up, you have to face it," Amelia smiled, touched by his struggle. "It's going to be worse if you keep fooling yourself until the day she shows up at the house with a boyfriend."

Owen looked at her with obvious contained irritation.

"She is a little baby and she is not allowed to grow up, I'll ground her if she does," He added, in obvious denial.

Amelia laughed, seeing how hard it was for him to accept soon enough, Megan wouldn't be a child anymore.

"Girls usually grow up faster than boys, babe," She got in bed with him and put her journal on her nightstand. "It's going to happen whether you like it or not."

"Well, I don't like it," Owen replied with a bad mood, unable to look his wife in the eyes.

Amelia smiled tenderly and leaned in his direction, giving him a kiss on the cheek with affection.

"Owen," She called out his name with her sweetest voice, knowing she was being seductive on purpose. "Babe," Amelia insisted, seeing he still refused to accept reality.

When Owen finally let out a breath he'd been holding to meet her eyes, he saw the loving expression she had reserved for him.

"You're having too much fun with this, aren't you?" He read her like a book.

"I'm sorry," Amelia leaned over in and buried her face in his neck, wrapping both arms around his neck to hide her amusement. "You're a great dad, you know that right?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Owen rolled his eyes, still irritated but much less so.

"I love you for it," Amelia lifted her head to look him in the eye and gently caressed his hair, watching him soften up at her touch.

Owen silently accepted her loving words and wrapped one arm around her, enjoying it when Amelia used his chest to rest her head on. She stayed quietly listening to his heartbeats, only fully relaxing when she heard the noise of the car parking in the garage and minutes later, Lucas showed up at their door to say he'd arrived safely at home.

"Now, we can sleep," Amelia yawned, relaxing but still worried about Robbie and Danny. They were going through a rough time but she was glad to realize they finally were eating again and hopefully would get better soon.

"Are you going to work tomorrow?" Owen idly caressed her hair after he'd turned off the TV, engulfing the room in the darkness. It was nice feeling the house so unusually quiet, especially knowing their kids were peacefully sleeping.

"No, I'm staying at home with the twins. They can't go to school like this and I won't be okay with them being here alone."

"I'll see if I can clear my afternoon to switch places with you," Owen proposed, feeling her gentle breath through his shirt.

Amelia enjoyed his touch, slowly dozing off. She was grateful that her kids and husband were safe and sound in their own beds, Having a big family was a lot of hard work, especially with the five amazing children they had, but she was absolutely sure it paid off a great deal. Her family meant everything to her and they were the most important part of her life.

"Danny is right about one thing though," She smiled with her eyes closed, feeling Owen wrapping one arm tighter around her as she put her head on her own pillow. "Seven really is the most magical number."

Thank you everyone for the incredible support.

Next on MBBF:

Amelia is surprised by her husband and children. Lucas pressures Emily to know more about her. When disaster strikes, Team Hunt finds out that everything can change in the blink of an eye.

Stay tuned for new updates!


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone, thank you so much for the incredible support!

 **My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter Eight**

As autumn finally settled, things slowly fell into place. Amelia saw September turning into October and after over a week of being at home, the twins finally got better and were in shape of being sent back to school.

Lucas was vastly improving in class and he'd been called on the Guidance Counselor's office to be congratulated on his Spanish and Algebra latest grades. Even though Emily was only officially his Spanish tutor, she had also been helping him with math. The academic achievement was doing very well for his self esteem and Amelia noticed how harder Lucas seemed to be working in school now he'd felt the taste of what it was like to do well in his exams. As expected, his soccer team won the pre season tournament, and Lucas was once again contacted by several college scouts who were interested in having him play at their Universities.

As for Thomas, Amelia noticed him losing his light more and more as days progressed. Several times, she'd tried to approach him and ask what was going on, but in all those moments he'd insisted everything was alright. At the same time Amelia knew nothing was fine, she didn't want to push it, because she knew Thomas would come talk to her whenever he felt ready to.

She was so immersed in her own thoughts that she was startled to hear the noise of several pairs of feet stomping the floor obviously coming in her direction. Amelia had just finished climbing down the stairs and making it to the kitchen when she was unexpectedly involved by a pair of strong arms.

"Happy Birthday, mom!" Lucas cheered excitedly, seeing the look of defeat on his brothers' face when they realized he'd won the race to see who would greet their mother first.

"Happy birthday!" Danny made his around his eldest brother and hugged his mother from behind.

Amelia couldn't help laughing with delight as her other two sons did the same, involving her in a bubble of love and happy wishes. In each of her birthdays, they'd done the same thing, racing to see who would get to her before the others. As the years had progressed, instead of Amelia opening her arms to pick up one of them, now it was them who could easily lift her up if they wanted to.

"Thank you guys," She kissed each one back individually, seeing how happy and cheerful they all looked for a Thursday morning. Then Amelia noticed the kitchen, where the table for breakfast was set and there were colorful balloons spread out everywhere. They usually ate breakfast in a hurry, but that morning everyone had woken up earlier than her to surprise their mother downstairs.

Amelia felt the amazing smell of fresh food and heard Megan's excited voice:

"Mom!" The ten year old involved her waist on a tight hug, "Happy Birthday! Did you like the balloons I chose for you? We got this whole bunch because I couldn't pick just one color."

"They are the prettiest balloons I've ever seen," Amelia replied cheerfully, seeing how most of them had 'happy birthday' wishes written all over. "When did you guys do all this?"

"Last night after you went to bed," Owen confessed, finishing the last batch of pancakes and washing his hands before coming in her direction, "Happy Birthday, babe," He kissed her temple with affection and involved one arm around her waist, smiling devotedly at her.

"Breakfast looks delicious," Amelia was deeply touched with her family's effort. They had obviously woken up before her on purpose and set everything to give her a warm welcome that morning. She leaned over Owen's chest, feeling him playfully kiss her cheek many times while their children took their seats on the big kitchen table.

"At what time are we going out to dinner?" Thomas asked, pouring out orange juice on everyone's glasses.

"We're leaving at six," Amelia replied with excitement. That year, they were having a dinner party at their house on Saturday to celebrate with their relatives and closest friends but today, on her actual birthday, all she wanted was to be with her own family. So later that day, they were all going out to dinner together.

"We got you presents, mom," Robbie said cheerfully, while serving himself with pancakes. "But you're only getting them tonight."

"I can't wait," Amelia gave him a heartfelt smile and took a seat between Megan and Lucas. "Oh, guys," She added emotionally, seeing they had put a birthday card signed by everyone in front of her plate. "I am happy beyond words," She confessed, overwhelmed by everything they had done.

Amelia couldn't believe she had gone from once having almost no one and feeling completely lost in the world, to now having six people she loved more than life itself.

"You deserve it," Lucas gave her most charming smile. "We love you, mom."

"I love you all too," She exchanged looks with Owen, smiling broadly.

"Team Hunt sure knows how to throw a birthday breakfast," Danny added, obviously proud of the effort they all had put in the decoration and the food.

"Don't ever doubt that," Amelia replied with a wink, absolute certain that was going to be a great day.

.

When they made it to the restaurant of Amelia's choice later that evening, she watched as all her kids got settled around the table with Owen and her. After they'd already ordered, she heartily smiled as one by one her children gave her the birthday presents they'd brought to dinner.

Amelia got a new wrist watch, a personalized scrub cap with printed hand drawings made by Megan and a book from her favorite author. She loved the light atmosphere and couldn't remember having that much fun in a while.

"How was the first week back to school?" She asked the twins, while she skillfully sliced her fish. "Are you guys behaving?" She inquired, concerned about their physical status. Post mononucleosis patients were oriented not to have physical activity for a few weeks because of the splenomegaly they usually developed and lasted longer than the acute phase of the disease.

"We can't do anything outside, there's too much catching up to do," Danny confessed, between bites. "Good thing Jack was bringing us the amount of homework we missed, otherwise we'd be lost by now."

"Yeah, we don't have a pretty girl to help us out," Robbie teased Lucas. Emily Spencer had been over at their house tutoring their oldest brother at least three times a week for the past fourteen days and everyone was teasing Lucas saying she was the only one who could keep him in line.

"But on the bright side, it wasn't me who had syphilis." Lucas teased him back with an evil grin.

"Did you invite her over for Saturday, Luke?" Amelia asked, disapproving of his joke towards Robbie. "I mean, she's been at the house a lot and she's been of great help to you, the least you could do was invite her to come."

"Yes, Luke, please invite her," Megan added to the choir of supportive voices.

"I will," Lucas said with a head nod. Ever since he'd taken Emily home two weeks before, despite the fact they'd been closer and more comfortable about each other allowing their friendship to blossom, he still felt uneasy about the discoveries he'd made about her.

"What about Missy?" Owen asked considerately. He knew Amelia didn't like the girl but it wasn't fair to Thomas that they invited a girl that was only friends with Lucas and didn't invite their other son's girlfriend.

"She should come too," Amelia looked at her food while she replied, obviously not believing a word she'd just said.

"I don't know…" Thomas said, taken by surprise with his father's suggestion. The past two weeks hadn't gone well for him and his relationship but he still hadn't said a word to anyone yet. He wasn't sure about a lot of things at that moment and he also knew Kate was probably going to be at the party. Thomas still hadn't spoken to her since the day they'd done their homework together and he knew having her and Missy at the same place would add more stress to his already confused mind. "I thought it would be more of a family thing." He said, hoping it would be a good enough excuse.

"Up to you, Tom," Amelia gave him a smile, feeling guilty she wasn't being more supportive. "I know you have a lot on your mind right now," She read him like a book. Thomas looked at his mother and knew she wasn't talking about his crazy routine. Thomas had a lot of classes in school, extracurricular activities, tennis practices and once a week he volunteered at the hospital reading children's books to admitted patients in the Pediatric wing. But he knew she didn't mean any of those things.

"Can we order dessert now?" Megan asked, eagerly looking through the last page of the menu.

Owen shook his head in playful denial. He'd heard that exact same question from Amelia many times over in their lives before.

"I want this one," Lucas pointed to the page on Megan's hand. "And that one."

"To share?" Amelia looked teasingly at him.

"To add," He replied with a charming smile and Amelia gave in laughing, far too used to Lucas' insane appetite. "Life is too short to have only one dessert." He declared wisely, making everyone crack up with his usual good humor.

.

When they made it home that evening, to Amelia's surprise, the Seattle Seahawks were playing on the Thursday Night Football segment and she was pretty much forced to sit down with the six diehard fans to watch the game.

"It's the last quarter of the game," Robbie said as an excuse to convince her. "You'll be our lucky charm, mom. It's your birthday. The Hawks _cannot_ lose on your birthday."

Unwillingly but not that much, Amelia sat down on couch with her husband and five kids, who had all inherited their father's passion for the team and laughed at their passionate reactions to the players' performance.

"See, mom," Thomas said with a grin when the game was over and they were preparing to go to sleep. "Your day is ending with the best present you could hope for, a Hawks win!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Amelia added with playful sarcasm, hearing her other children's words of support to Thomas's comment. Bending over, Owen whispered in her ear:

"These kids make me so proud."

"Oh, not you too," She mocked him, playfully hitting her shoulders against his. "Okay, everyone, time for bed," She decided, seeing it was past ten pm. "Thank you all for the best day ever," She kissed each one goodnight, seeing them to their rooms as the whole family made it upstairs.

The kids muttered their wishes of good night back, dragging themselves to their beds while their parents did the same.

When they were finally in their room, Owen closed the door after them. Amelia didn't know this yet, but she was still in for another surprise. He watched as she went to the bathroom, starting her pre bed routine and got in the shower with her, finishing first on purpose.

Owen waited until she finally came out of the sliding doors and wrapped herself in a towel. Afterwards, when his wife was standing in front of the mirror, already wearing one of his button-up pajamas shirts, he made his way towards her.

Amelia was startled when she felt Owen's hands enclosing around her neck, but at his delicate touch, she sensed something being placed around her neck. He finished clasping the object, slowly descending his hands on her body until he finally wrapped her waist from her behind, pressing his chest against her back while he glued his cheek to hers, looking at their reflection on the mirror.

"Do you like it?" He asked, obviously excited about her reaction.

"Owen…!" Amelia sighed, looking at the mirror and seeing the sparkling stone that shone on the delicate necklace. It was made of a very thin white gold chains that had skillfully crafted links and a single diamond as pendant. "Oh my God," She took her fingers to the beautiful jewel, completely taken by surprise and by its beauty.

Owen kept staring at their reflection, turning his head gently to give her a kiss on the cheek. When he looked back at the mirror, seeing her surprise through it, he gently reached for her left hand, bringing it up to their front so she could see it too.

"Do you remember when I gave you this?" He captured her finger and slowly rolled the small diamond ring she was wearing beneath their wedding gold band.

Amelia nodded affirmatively, still too overwhelmed to speak. Owen had given her that ring right after she'd told him she was pregnant with Lucas, a few months after they'd gotten married.

"And do you remember what I promised you that day?" Owen asked, looking deeply into her eyes through the mirror.

"Of course I remember," Amelia touched her cheek harder to his, intertwining the fingers of her left hand with his. Her free hand traveled to his the back of his neck and she gently caressed the hair behind his ear as she leaned against him. "You told me this ring was a promise you would always be here for me and our children," She relived the scenes of that day in her mind, with a loving smile.

"And you've kept it on your finger for all these years," He noticed, smiling tenderly at her.

"Just as you've kept your promise," She smiled adoringly at him, wrapping her arms around his own, that were still on her waist.

"Do you see this?" Owen took one of his hands to her neck, showing her the necklace through the mirror. Amelia reveled on his touch, feeling enchanted. He held the small pendant between his fingers, that seemed even bigger compared to the delicate jewel. "This diamond comes from a gem that was lapidated into two rocks only," He confessed.

"How do you know that?"

"Because you're wearing the other one on your left hand," He confessed, gazing at her with an adorably smug smile. He noticed how her jaw slightly dropped, before she turned around in his arms and looked straight into his eyes.

"What?" Amelia asked and her voice was hoarse with surprise.

"I've been looking for this forever," He confessed, feeling the look of incredulity stamped on her face warm up his heart. "When I first bought the ring, the jewelry clerk told me about this story. But when I went back there to get you something for your birthday, of course I found out the twin rock was also sold many years ago. So I spent weeks trying to locate it. Luckily, I found it and had it turned into a pendant."

"Owen," She knew she was tearing up, completely flattered by his devotion and the meaning of his gesture. "Babe, you must have paid a fortune for this!" She instinctively took her hand to the necklace, holding onto it as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

"No money is comparable to you, babe," He held her face between her hands, smiling adoringly at the woman he loved. She had a pool of tears in each of her amazing blue eyes and when the first one began to fall, Owen gently kissed it away. "You're worth more than all the fortune in the entire world." He added, being overly romantic on purpose, but still meaning every word.

Amelia stood in the tip of her toes, hugging him so tightly her knuckles turned white. His arms wrapped around her torso, making her rejoice in the familiarity of his embrace. Amelia rested her cheek against his chest, snuggling close to him, feeling the touch of his neck against her forehead. To her, Owen's arms were the safest place in the world and that had never changed.

"You know what this means, right?" He asked with a silly smile on his lips, unable to hide he was completely in love with her.

"That you're the best ever?" She gently pulled apart, looking into his eyes with a smile of adoration.

"That the promise is now reinforced," Owen laughed with her, gently caressing her back. "It's a double promise, babe," He smiled, watching her dry her tears of joy, overwhelmed by the situation. "I still mean every word."

"You know what…" Amelia sniffed gently, losing the battle to her emotions. "When I think that there was a time in my life I actually hated days like birthdays or Christmases I feel like I once lived in a completely different universe," She confessed. "As if it was another time and place," Amelia added, hoping he would understand what she meant. "Never in my life would I imagine I'd be so blessed and so fulfilled," She confessed, nudging Owen's nose with her own, playfully. "Today when I came down for breakfast, Robbie hugged me so tightly I thought my ribs were going to break," Owen laughed at her confession. "Now I have all this amazing life we built together and I am so, so thankful for it."

"They are amazing," Owen declared, feeling just as proud of their children.

"And it's amazing to think that when we started, there was no people," Amelia rambled, hysterically. "And now there's people, and we _made_ them," She went on, lost in her own crazy thoughts. "I just love them too much, I can't even…"

"Me too," Owen leaned in and kissed her, feeling her wrapping her arms him once again. He completely understood what her lack of words was describing.

"Team Hunt is not at all easy to manage," She laughed as they broke apart. "But it sure is worth everything."

Owen smiled with his eyes and leaned over her, capturing her neck with his lips before starting a trail of wet kissed all the way to her jaw.

"Did you like your necklace?" He seductively asked her, hearing Amelia moan affirmatively, "I want to see you wearing it," He confessed. "And only it."

Amelia pulled apart, smiling mischievously at him. Owen was everything she could have ever asked for and much more.

"I love the hell out of you," She heard her husband laugh at her affectionate declaration, following him to the bedroom and slowly stripping, noticing as he eagerly got in bed to watch her.

"You got your present, now I get mine," Owen excitedly replied, feeling instantly turned on by the sight of her naked body.

Amelia slowly crawled on the bed, crashing on top of him at the same time she kissed him without any reserve. He was entirely hers and hers only. That night Owen made love to her passionate and playfully, letting the weight of all those years they'd been together add to their intimacy and the undying love their felt for each other.

"This has really been the most amazing day," Amelia felt exhaustion slowly catching up with her, playing with Owen's fingers between her hands as his arm lazily rested around her waist.

"I'm glad you had a good time," Owen stretched to kiss her bare shoulder and then lay on his own pillow again.

"I had the best time," Amelia turned around, lying on her back and making him face the side of her head. "But I have to correct Tom and admit," As she said the words, Amelia's hands traveled to delicate stone on her neck "That in fact _this_ was the best present I could hope for."

"The diamond?" Owen asked with his eyes closed, almost asleep.

"No," Amelia turned her head to his side and gently kissed the tip of his nose. "But everything that it means."

She saw the smile that formed on Owen's lips as he heard her words and subsequently dozed off, relaxing the grip around her waist. Amelia could hear the regular rhythm of his breaths, indicating he had already fallen asleep, so she turned around once again. When she did, she felt Owen shifting on the bed, pulling her closer to his embrace and unconsciously involving one her breasts with his hand on a gesture that was much more about intimacy than seduction.

With a smile of utter satisfaction, she kissed his knuckles, feeling blissfully happy before she finally allowed herself to fall asleep as well.

.

On Saturday, Amelia and Owen watched as their house was invaded by the sound of laughter and talks from their guests. Luckily, it wasn't raining, so people could also use the tables and couches they had on the back porch, near the stone fireplace that kept the place warmer.

Lucas watched as his brother sat quietly in a corner, with a heavy frown on his face while Matt Robbins excitedly spoke. Kate Karev was inside the house with Joey Avery, probably engaged in some other activity. Lucas hadn't failed to notice his brother was following her with his eyes everywhere the girl went.

The night before, after confronting Thomas when they'd made it back home from school, his younger brother had confessed what'd happened at Kate's place two weeks before. With his usual honesty and practicality, Lucas had advised Thomas to talk to her and try to salvage what little was left of their friendship, but Tom was being too stubborn for his own good and even Lucas could tell that.

"You are unusually quiet," Emily pointed out, watching as Lucas ran his eyes across the room.

They were one of the few people sitting outside, in a distant corner of the backyard porch, a few meters from the fireplace.

"I was just thinking," Lucas turned his eyes back to her, dismissing his distraction.

"I didn't know you were capable of thinking," Emily teased him, making him smile broadly before laughing when their eyes met. Over the past two weeks, it had become increasingly frequent the exchange of playful offenses between them.

"You're very grumpy," Lucas mocked her and Emily couldn't help noticing how his blue eyes sparkled in the dimly lit atmosphere around them. "I think you need a boyfriend."

Emily laughed loudly, nearly spilling the content of her glass, watching as Lucas had fun with her amusement.

"Seriously, though," He kept talking, ignoring her reaction completely. "I'll set you up with one of my friends."

"You mean the trolls you walk around with?"

"You generalize everyone I hang out with just because we're athletes," Lucas widened his eyes in shock. "You prejudiced girl!"

"Well, if they're anything like you, then they're complete asses," She shook her head in disapproval, still laughing. "No, thank you."

"I have nice friends," Lucas insisted, unable to hold his smile at how hard she was laughing. "Some, at least."

"Name one," Emily dared him. "All of the guys you hang out with change girlfriends faster than they change their underwear." The girl pointed out.

Lucas searched around, determined to prove her wrong. He tried to think about one of his friends who wasn't like that and then, through the window, his eyes fell on the perfect person.

"Joe Avery," He decided, satisfied. "He is a great guy, he's got good grades, a charming figure and I've never seen him showing off about girls before."

"Really?" Emily looked at where Lucas was starring, seeing the figure of Joe Avery happily chatting with a brown haired girl. She furrowed her brow questioningly, knowing Avery was the main striker of the football team. "So, he is decent?"

"He is very decent," Lucas confessed, honestly. He had known Joey since they were kids and he had never seen his friend hurt a fly. "Both his parents are surgeons, his sister Harriet just got into Berkeley and he is a brilliant student too. You should definitely date him." Lucas added, convincingly.

"Well, you have a good family too and that didn't make you nice," Emily looked at him again after her snarky comment, making them both fall into another fit of laughter. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the girl commented, with her eyes fixated on Lucas' father. "Your dad is such a great guy. I love the way he smiles when he looks at your mom."

Lucas turned his head to see what she meant and noticed his father laughing hard at something his aunt Meredith was saying, all the while with a hand splayed on his mother's lower back.

"He is the best dad in the world," Lucas confessed, watching Emily's face light up at his confession. "If someday I become half the man he is, I'll be more than happy."

"It looks like he gives you guys great examples." She confessed, still awed by how adorable Lucas' family was.

"He is a hard worker, served our country and always does right by all of us. I have but nothing but love and gratitude for him," Lucas confessed, speaking from his heart. "My dad has always been there for us and he treats my mother like a queen. I couldn't ask for a better example."

"That's beautiful," Emily swallowed hard, deeply touched by Lucas' description. She felt her heart constricting and he didn't fail to notice how distant her eyes had become.

Before he could comment on her change of attitude, Emily hurried to change subjects.

"How do your mom and dad feel about you wanting to become a professional athlete?"

"They're very supportive," Lucas took a quick glance at her before focusing on the other guests again. "I mean, I think at first it was kind of hard for them to accept it, they're both surgeons and very invested in studying and education… But now they've seen it's what I want they're totally up for it."

Both teenagers watched from distance as Lucas' twin brothers and Jack Karev came storming down the stairs, being closely followed by Peanut, the golden retriever puppy, throwing a football on the grass backyard.

"That's amazing," Emily commented with a sincere smile.

"What about your parents?" Lucas looked deeply into her eyes, forgetting about the glass of soda in his hand. "You never talk about yourself."

Lucas could vividly remember the day he had given a ride to Emily after she'd been studying with him all evening for his math test. He had always supposed she was a typical student in their school, with a traditional family and a comfortable financial situation. But when he'd pulled the car in front of her house, Lucas was shocked to find out she lived in one of the poorest areas in the city, in a house that seemed smaller than his own living room.

He had tried not to pry and be indiscrete, but one afternoon, during their tutoring sessions, after directly asking her about her life, all Lucas could find out was that Emily had a full scholarship. Then it made a lot of sense to him why she was obsessed with getting good grades and keeping an excellent profile, in fear she might lose the opportunity of a good education. But ever since she'd confessed that, he hadn't heard much else.

"It's not fair that I share all my stuff with you," He said, after her prolonged silence. "And you don't give anything back."

"It's easy to share what's good," She replied harshly, obviously being defensive.

"So, after knowing everything about my life you still think it's a fairytale?" Lucas confronted her, hurt that she still seemed to think he was empty on the inside.

Emily let out a heavy sigh, hesitantly opening and closing her mouth, obviously struggling with a decision.

"You don't hear about my life, Hunt," She looked away, propped her elbows on her knees and focused on the fireplace, knowing she couldn't bear to look at him. Her voice was cold and impersonal when she continued. "You don't want to hear about my alcoholic abusive father or my soon to be again unemployed mother, who can't hold a job for more than two months since she puts up with my father's verbal abuse everyday and thinks she's not worth shit because that's what he tells her," She paused, feeling a lump on her throat as the words poured out of her mouth, uncontrollably. "You don't want to hear about my nineteen year old sister who's pregnant with her second child and has no idea who the father is," Emily paused, obviously hurt and then looked into his eyes. Lucas expected to see tears on her face, but he was shocked to find her expression looked hardened, void of any emotion. He felt his own face betraying all the emotions he was feeling, shocked to hear about her reality. "It's much better to hear about how amazing your parents are or how adorable your little sister is."

Lucas stood frozen for a moment, completely taken aback. He had no idea Emily's life was like that and it was shocking to hear that the same girl who'd been helping him so much without asking for nothing back had the cruelest reality he could imagine.

"I am sorry," He said, still shocked. "I…" Lucas struggled with words, frowning heavily. "I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's not about you," She said, impatiently, slowly ripping a chunk of grass from the floor to contain her anger. "It's not your problem and it's not relevant to you. I help you with your grades, you don't need to hear about my problems. They're none of your business."

"What the fuck, Emily?" Lucas raised his voice, angry, not realizing that for the first time he was calling her by her first name. "I opened my heart and my house to you and you don't think I'm worth it of giving you a freaking shoulder to cry on because _you're only here to teach me_?" Lucas tried to control his tantrum, unsuccessfully, angry at her but mostly angry at himself. "You've known me for all this time and you still believe I'm a _clueless jock_?" He used the words she'd once said on purpose, completely out of his mind with his discovery.

"That's not what I meant," The girl confessed between rapid breaths, watching as he got up and stood in front of her, pacing back and forth furiously.

"What the hell, man, you let me call you preppy and asskisser and I got you kicked out of the library when it could have given you disciplinary action," Lucas raised his voice, but no one around them noticed because they were far too distant and it was dark. "You could have lost your scholarship!" He freaked out, consumed by guilt, furiously throwing his glass of soda on the nearest bush, trying to manage his anger. It was not fair that Emily Spencer had to live in the house he'd seen. It wasn't fair that her parents weren't as amazing as she was. None of it was fair.

"Hunt, it's not like that…"

"It is," He tried to calm down, sitting by her side again, still in shock by what she'd told him and mostly, by how she'd told him. If Lucas had a similar reality, he knew he probably would have broken down at the thought of sharing it with someone, or most likely have turned into an alcoholic himself before possibly dropping out of school. But Emily stood there, resilient and strong, courageously telling him about things he'd never thought about. How had she made it to their school? How did she come out of that dysfunctional environment and showed up to class every day, more determined to do well than anyone else he knew?

"Maybe I should go," Emily tightened her coat around her body and got up, visibly distressed.

"No," Lucas tried to be gentle as he pulled her back, dreading the change in the atmosphere between them but not regretting hearing the truth. "I am sorry. I am," He added, not knowing what else to say. He wanted to help her. Lucas wished more than anything that somehow he could make it all different, and the thought of being unable to made him feel powerless. "Please, tell me how I can help you."

"You can't," Emily replied, distantly and soon after pulled herself back together. Just because she'd allowed Lucas to know about her reality didn't mean she wanted to involve him in it. "I don't need help. I got it and I'm doing fine."

"Clearly," Lucas added with sarcasm, hurt that she wouldn't let him nearer.

"Thank you for inviting me," She said, walking to the back steps, unable to stay another minute by his side. "Tell your mom congratulations for me. I hope she has the best birthday."

Lucas heard Emily's words get more distant. He thought about what she'd told him, still trying to process it. He needed time to think and regretted the way he'd reacted to the news. Lucas wanted to tell her that, but the girl had walked away before he could, taking with her the yet too fragile bridge she had just built between them.

.

Later that evening, Owen helped his wife clean up after their last guest had departed. Amelia had casually commented with him that she was worried about their sons. Lucas had locked himself in his room in the middle of the night without an explanation, Thomas had barely spoken more than two words the whole evening and even Robbie had gone to bed with a distressed expression on his face.

Once they were already in bed, Owen assured her they would use their free Sunday to talk to the boys and figure out once for all what was happening to each one of them. Amelia was satisfied to hear his answer, eager to rest after the intense and exhausting day she'd just had.

But little did she know that in the middle of the night, Danny would shake her shoulders, suddenly waking her up with the scariest words she could ever imagine to hear.

"Mom!" The thirteen year old sobbed between his tears, startling both she and Owen, "Dad, wake up! Something is wrong with Robbie!" Amelia opened her eyes, registering the information with shock as Owen jumped out of bed driven by his sharp protection instinct, already running to the corridor. She rapidly tossed aside the covers getting up too, taking one last look at Danny as she assimilated the agony on his face and voice when the boy added. "Rob suddenly couldn't breathe, he choked and passed out on the floor," Danny yelled, desperately."Mom, I think he is dying!"

.

.

.

I know this chapter ends with a cliffhanger but I promise the next one will be up soon.

If you want to know more the time Owen gave Amelia a ring, it's in the first drabble called 'My Beginning' on the 'My Boys Drabbles'. You can check it on my profile page.

 **Next on MBBF** :

Team Hunts deals with the aftermath of Robbie's condition; Tension rises as everyone deals individually with the unexpected. Lucas makes a discovery that will change someone's life.


	9. Chapter 9

**My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 9**

Amelia could feel everything around her spiraling at such an intense pace that, despite all her best efforts, she couldn't keep up with the rhythm.

In the blink of an eye, everything had changed.

" _Get a central line!"_

" _Where is the Ultrassound? His abdomen is distended and rigid…!"_

As she heard the words from outside the trauma room, completely numbed by her own feelings, Amelia watched as a team of doctors she knew too well and trusted completely worked on her thirteen year old son. She felt a pair of hands grabbing her by the shoulders, trying to move her from the scene, but Amelia couldn't leave. She kept her two feet rooted to the floor, watching through the glass as Miranda Bailey's face twitched into an ugly scowl when she saw the image on the ultrasound screen.

" _We got to take him up to the OR, now!"_

The words of her boss echoed in Amelia's mind when suddenly the trauma room doors opened with the hit of a gurney. She saw as Owen came running down from the opposite direction, his breathing heavy as he stormed into the scene, obviously tense out of his mind.

"His spleen is ruptured," Bailey said while they waited for the elevator. She repeatedly pressed the button, as if it could make their ride come faster. "He lost too much blood; I have to take him up _now_!"

At the sound of Bailey's voice, the doors to the elevator closed and Amelia saw her adored son being taken away from her. In a fraction of a second, reality caught up with her and she paced furiously, hitting the elevator doors with her closed fists.

"NO!"

Owen heard his wife's loud screams and reached out for her, finding resistance as she struggled to leave his arms.

 _No!_ Amelia pleaded to the Universe. Not Robbie. Not her youngest boy, the one with the widest smile and tightest hug. She could vividly still hear his voice. _"You'll be our lucky charm, mom. It's your birthday. The Hawks cannot lose on your birthday."_

"He is dying," Amelia cried hysterically, running to the elevator. "I gotta get up there, I have to do something...!"

"Amelia, don't," Owen held her against her will, keeping her still. He knew exactly how she felt because he was feeling just as desperate. "Let them work, there is nothing we can do!"

Amelia stopped fighting him and heard the sobs coming from the waiting room. She turned around and saw Danny convulsively crying, wrapped inside Lucas' arms. Her oldest son had a blank expression on his face, completely in shock.

"Mom, I am so sorry," Danny cried even harder when his eyes met his mother's. "I am so sorry… We didn't mean to…" His voice got lost in the trail of emotions.

Amelia crouched down and looked deeply into his wet blue eyes. When Danny was sure his mother would condemn him, she involved him in her arms and broke down right then, giving him comfort at the same time she was seeking it.

Owen watched the scene in front of him, unable to fully process it. All his heart could feel was anguish, pain and fear. He had been woken up in the middle of the night by Danny's scream and before anyone else could react, he was already on his way to the corridor. Owen was good in a crisis situation. He'd been trained for it. But nothing in the world would ever have prepared him for what he saw when he'd made it to the twins' room.

Robbie was passed out on the floor, unconscious. His face was paler than a ghost and his breath was shallow and barely existent. It had felt like a horror movie scene. Owen had immediately taken his hand to his son's neck, feeling the weak pulse and slow beats of his heart. Without a second thought, Owen had lifted the boy from the floor, knowing they couldn't afford to wait. When he'd made it to the hall, his other three sons and wife were already out there, attracted by the noise. He'd given each one a specific command. Lucas grabbed the car keys, Amelia got the coats and Thomas was in charge of staying home with Megan.

The next ten minutes were the scariest of Owen's life. As Lucas drove to the hospital, he and Amelia went in the back of the car, assessing Robbie and trying to figure out what had happened while they did their best to keep their son alive.

"We should have told you when Robbie got hurt," Danny sobbed. If his brother died, he would never forgive himself. "You told us we couldn't do any physical exercises because of the Mono and we were sticking to that. Yesterday, Jack came over to the party and we went outside. We were feeling fine… But then," He looked from his mother to his father, seeking support. "We were just throwing the football for Peanut to catch it. We didn't mean to run or anything… I threw the ball towards Rob but Jack thought it'd been aimed at him. So they both reached for it at the same time and Jack fell on top of Robbie."

Amelia looked at Owen, feeling the world around her collapsing. She knew in his eyes he had reached the same conclusion: Their son's spleen had been ruptured in the seemingly harmless trauma when the kids had been innocently playing outside.

"Rob felt a stomachache," Danny confessed. "But you told us our organs were swollen because of the mono, so we thought that that was the cause for the pain. We imagined that if we waited, it would pass," Danny's sob became loud cries and he broke down completely. "But when I asked him if he was feeling better, he didn't answer me… And then I noticed he _couldn't_ answer me…"

Amelia held Danny tighter, cursing the heavens for not paying closer attention to the boys. She and Owen had been completely devoted to taking care of the twins in the past two weeks and she had warned them multiple times they weren't supposed to engage in physical activity because they could hurt themselves.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner, Danny?" Amelia asked, trying not to make him feel guiltier.

"We knew you would be mad, mom," Danny confessed. "You told us several times not to do it and we did it. We weren't even thinking, we just… The ball was there and we threw it. And now Robbie might die and…"

"Listen to me!" Owen interrupted them, bending down in front of them, fighting back the tears. "No one is dying, ok? Your brother was brought in time, if it weren't for you, he would have not been brought in time, you hear me?" Owen looked at Danny, trying to believe his own words. He couldn't bear the thought of Robbie not making it.

Danny nodded affirmatively, unable to hold back his tears. Owen's eyes met Lucas' and the surgeon could spot the fear stamped on his face. Lucas didn't say a word, but in his eyes Owen identified the horror and fears his oldest son was feeling.

"God, I can't do this…" Amelia got up in the empty waiting room. It was four in the morning and there were few patients around. "I can't do this," She repeated, her eyes sparkling with tears. "I can't lose another son."

"Amelia…" Owen tried to hold her again, in fear she might do something stupid. He was just as nervous and desperate and the anxiety of waiting was nearly killing him too.

"No, you don't get it," She backed away from him.

"I know," He said gently, trying to make her calm down. He was just as scared but losing control wouldn't help anything. "You have to calm down, all we can do now is wait." Owen tried his best to be reasonable, despite that being the scariest moment of his life.

"I can't _wait_ ," Amelia got rid of his embrace, pushing him furiously. She wouldn't be able to cope with another loss like that. No mother should bury her own child, but she had already done it once. That was unnatural, it was wrong. If she could, she would switch places with Robbie in a heartbeat. If it meant he would be okay and alive, she wouldn't mind being the one who needed to be buried. "I can't lose him… It's not fair," Amelia broke down, crying convulsively, oscillating between hurt and anger. "It's not fair…"

"I know," Owen tried to get to her again. His own eyes were swollen and desperate.

"No, you don't know!" Amelia exploded in fits of rage, taking out her anger at the world on him. "You don't know because you never had to hold your child in your arms and watch him die! You don't know because you never buried a son… You can't possibly know what it feels like!"

Amelia expected Owen to try to hold and comfort her again but instead, his voice was cold and filled with hurt when he replied in an impersonally low voice:

"Robbie is my son too, Amelia."

She looked up at her husband and saw the pain in his eyes before he turned his back on her and walked to the chairs with a mix of frustration, anger and fear. Amelia stood alone by the elevator doors, wishing she could go back in time and fix everything that had happened that day. Soon after, as the word about Robbie's condition spread, Evelyn Hunt, Maggie and Meredith joined them in the waiting room. Alex Karev followed closely, immediately scrubbing in on the procedure the moment he stepped foot in the hospital.

And the following two hours felt like two days.

Two hours in which Amelia could only fear and hurt, hoping for the best but expecting the very worst. She would never be prepared to hear her worst nightmare. Not again. Embracing herself, Amelia kept on pacing back and forth repeatedly, trying to bargain with the universe to spare her son from the familiar outcome that cursed every man in her life that she had ever dared to love.

When the doors to the waiting room finally opened again, the seconds between Bailey's appearance and her words were the longest of Amelia's life.

"Robbie made it out of surgery."

Amelia let out a breath she'd been holding for too long, feeling Lucas' hand reaching out for hers and squeezing it hard while Danny started to cry in relief. Owen was standing up, visibly drained, but looked to Bailey in gratitude and respect, expecting to hear more.

"However," Bailey proceeded, "We needed to perform a partial splenectomy," She looked from Owen to Amelia. "His spleen was almost twice its normal size." Bailey added, questioningly.

"He had mononucleosis a couple of weeks ago," Amelia explained. "And I just found out that last night the boys were playing and Jack fell on top of Robbie."

"The swelling of the spleen and thinning of its capsule caused by the viral infection has made Robbie's spleen much more susceptible to injury. So, even a minor impact had the catastrophic effect you saw," Bailey summed up, explaining what had happened to the whole family. "He had a grade III spleen laceration and was bleeding into his abdomen," Both Owen and Amelia knew the spleen was a highly vascular organ. "Not surprisingly, he quickly went into hypovolemic shock, due to the great amount of blood loss. We hydrated him and and clamped his splenic artery in time to reverse the shock and repair the damage."

"Were you able to salvage any splenic tissue?" Amelia tilted her head in distress, fully relieved her son was alive but worried about the consequences of the organ removal. It could compromise Robbie's immune system and she couldn't help wondering.

"I tried to salvage what little of it I could," Bailey confessed. "But it was too swollen and too damaged. We were able to preserve about thirty percent of it."

Amelia nodded in agreement, relieved that they didn't remove the entire organ.

"Can we see him?" Owen's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah, Shepherd, Hunt, come with me, the rest of you stay," Bailey commanded in her typical bossy manner.

Amelia watched as Owen followed Bailey, without waiting for her. She sighed heavily, unable to deal with their problem at that moment. All she needed to do was to see her son and know he was alive. They made it to the PICU, seeing Robbie was still asleep but extubated and breathing on his own. Amelia pulled a chair and sat down next to him, holding his cold hand and crying more tears, this time of gratitude and relief.

She watched as Owen went to the other side of the bed, caressing their child's strands of strawberry blonde hair while whispering words of encouragement to him. His vitals looked good and his face looked paler, but much less so than when they'd first brought him in.

Amelia couldn't help thinking back at the time Thomas had needed an appy when he'd been only four years old. Back then, she had found herself in the same situation after the operation had proven more difficult than initially thought. Scares like that made her about ten years older in one night and she hoped they would never have to fear for any of their children's lives ever again.

"Robbie?" She called his name gently, "Rob, can you hear me, baby? It's mom."

Amelia felt a weak squeeze on her hand and looked from it to Owen, expectantly.

"Buddy, wake up," Owen asked, very gently.

Slowly, Robbie's lids opened to reveal his amazing blue eyes. He looked lost and disoriented at first, but when he noticed his parents, he visibly relaxed.

"How are you feeling?" Amelia asked, never letting go of his hand.

"What happened?" His voice was a hoarse whisper.

"You're at the hospital, Rob," Owen told him. "You passed out at home and needed surgery."

His face went from relaxed to completely scared.

"It's alright," Amelia gently squeezed his shoulder, looking down at him with a sweet smile on her lips. "You're fine now," She assured him, tearing up at the notion he was going to be okay.

Owen saw the multiple questions that were lingering in his son's eyes and explained:

"Yesterday when you hurt yourself playing ball you ruptured your spleen," The boy looked at him, still scared, and Owen proceeded, thinking if he understood what had happened, he would be more at ease. "You lost a lot of blood to the inside of your belly and you passed out because of that blood loss. Dr. Bailey took you to surgery and fixed it. You're fine now."

"I don't remember passing out," Robbie added with a weak voice.

"Good," Amelia squeezed his hand harder, relieved that her son at least hadn't been scared of afraid during that nightmare. "All that matters is that you're fine now."

Being reassured by his mother, the thirteen year old finally relaxed. Still under the effect of the surgery drugs, he oscillated between sleep and consciousness for the following hour. Soon after, Amelia stayed by Robbie's side and Owen left so that Danny could come in. Amelia watched with emotion as Danny hugged his twin brother and the two of them exchanged words no one but them could understand. It was an immense relief to see that the little things hadn't changed.

.

Back in the waiting room, Thomas made himself comfortable next to his father and his aunt Meredith. Lucas had texted him an hour before, saying Robbie had made it out of surgery. Overwhelmed with relief, he had taken a cab with Megan to go be with their family at the hospital.

As the sun started to rise, the hospital floor got busier with more people passing by. Not too long after Thomas had arrived, the shifts changed and he was startled when a hand gently covered his on the wooden chair's arm.

Looking up abruptly, he saw the familiar face of Kate Karev staring down at him with genuine concern.

"What are you doing here?" Thomas asked, surprised to see her there in such an early hour of the morning.

"My dad called my mom and she told me what happened," Kate swallowed hard, scared for the family she was so close to. "How is Robbie?"

Thomas breathed in and out, digesting the fact Kate had gone to the hospital and trying to recapitulate everything that had happened.

"He bounced back but is still critical," The boy replied, holding onto the hand that Kate had offered him.

"And how are you?"

Thomas' eyes traveled up to meet Kate's and in them he found concern and support.

"I'm okay, I guess," He shrugged. "Trying to keep an eye on Meg," Thomas added, looking from Kate to his little sister sleeping on the chair right next to them. "She doesn't know the severity of what happened yet," The boy confessed, thinking of how he'd told Megan Robbie had only passed out because he was dehydrated, making it seem like it wasn't a big deal in order to protect his sister. "And I had to stay home with her pretending everything was going to be fine when I had no idea if Robbie was dead or alive."

"I can't begin to imagine how awful that must have been," Kate said with sincerity. "My brother just found out. He is feeling as guilty as you can imagine." The girl added, looking from Thomas' eyes to their linked hands.

Once Kate noticed how close they were, she abruptly pulled apart, standing up at the same time Thomas' father came towards them.

"Tom, you can go see Robbie for a minute now, and I'll drive you guys home. Mom is going to stay with him," Owen informed. "Grandma is in there with Luke. Wait until they leave the PICU to go inside."

Thomas nodded and did as his father told. When he came back from the intensive care unit, minutes after, Kate had already left the waiting room. Following Lucas, Danny and Megan, the boy made his way to their father's truck, knowing it would take a long while before things went back normal, in every aspect of his life.

.

For the following week, Amelia and Owen took turns sleeping at the hospital with Robbie while he made his recovery. His labs were good and he hadn't developed any post-op complications. On Friday, five days after his surgery, Amelia was in her son's ward room in Peds when she heard Karev walking in, followed by a herd of interns and residents.

"Who's presenting?" He asked, very formally.

A petite blonde female intern took a step forward:

"Uh, Robert Hunt, thirteen years old, day five post op of partial splenectomy after traumatic injury and hypovolemic shock. His incision wound looks clean and dry, his latest CT shows no fluids in the abdomen, he is walking, ingesting solids and…"

"My intestines are working too if that is your concern," Robbie added with a teasing smile, knowing he was making the intern uncomfortable.

"Yes, we were just about to ask that," The young woman replied, visibly embarrassed.

"So, not only is he walking, eating and pooping," Karev winked at Robbie, "he is also back to making jokes. I think that pretty much completes the discharge checklist, doesn't it?"

"Are you serious?" Amelia asked, getting up from her chair. She had been waiting all week to hear the amazing news and the first thought that came to her mind was calling Owen to let him know.

"Yes, you can pack to go," Karev rubbed her shoulder gently. "Bring him in on Monday for a checkup, okay?"

"You got it," Robbie replied before Amelia could. After Karev had already left, the boy turned excitedly at Amelia "I can't believe I'm going home."

"I can," She bent over his bed and kissed his head, relieved. "Do you want to call dad and give him the good news? He is downstairs working," Amelia handed her cell phone to Robbie, thinking about how happy his dad would be to hear the news from their son.

They waited a couple more hours until Owen finished in the ER and came upstairs to take them home. Amelia noticed that even though her husband warmly showed concern and care towards Robbie, not once he asked how she was. In fact, he barely even looked at her. Unfortunately, that had been happening during the entire past week and Amelia knew why.

She felt really bad that, when Robbie was in the OR and they had been fearing for his life, she hadn't been the most supportive. Amelia had been so caught up and immersed in her own grief and panic of the worst happening to her again that she hadn't taken a second to consider that Owen was going through the same fear and worry she was. And instead of giving him strength like he had been doing to her that day, she had pushed him away, saying words that were too cruel and only made her feel embarrassed to think of now.

She knew they needed to talk so she could apologize, but that week had been all about Robbie and she didn't regret giving the thirteen year old her full attention in the time of need. Their children would always come first and she was sure Owen felt the same. But now, Robbie was fine, they were finally going home and Amelia knew that at some point, they would have to talk and sort things out. But the truth was, she had no idea how Owen would react at her apology and that thought brought back all the feelings of anxiety she had become so familiar with in the past week.

.

Thomas sneaked out of the classroom, making his way to the library. He was halfway there when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. He didn't notice he let out a sigh before turning around.

"Hey, Miss," He greeted the girl, receiving a quick kiss on the lips.

"What's wrong?" Missy asked, possessively putting Thomas' hair behind his ear. "You look exhausted. I don't like seeing you like this."

Her statement made anger boil up inside Thomas' chest. Everyone knew he'd had one of the worst weeks of his life, nearly losing his younger brother and yet Missy showed concern about what she liked or didn't.

"I don't like feeling like this either," Thomas replied a little roughly. "I am just tired because I'm sleep deprived," He hoped she would take that as an excuse. Every day that passed made him wonder if he was doing the right thing keeping a relationship with Missy. Not once had she asked how his brother was and he didn't know whether she was just clueless or if she simply didn't care. "I have a bunch of calculus exercises to hand in due tomorrow. I can't hang out now, I'm sorry," He dismissed her, knowing she would be angry.

"But Tommy, you've barely seen me all week!" The girl complained, and Thomas could swear he saw her pouting.

"I didn't have a very good week myself," Thomas justified, almost adding that she wasn't exactly being the most supportive when he needed it the most.

"I understand," Missy sighed, visibly irritated. "Okay, I'll go see the girls about the Christmas ball, then."

"We're in October," Thomas frowned, too tired to tolerate more of those shallow concerns.

"It's never too early to start planning," Missy winked, leaning in to give him another peck on the lips.

Thomas watched as she left. Even the bouncy movement of her hips, something that once had caught his attention, was now something he was dreading. More and more, Thomas couldn't help feeling like he had to break up with her before he started to develop antagonizing feelings for the girl. But he thought about her family and all the investment he'd put in that relationship and confusion assaulted him again, culminating with the beginning of a throbbing headache.

Letting out a sigh of utter stress, Thomas resumed his journey to the library, expectantly. He was excited, but in a good way. When he opened the doors to the library, he saw the familiar scene that warmed his heart.

On one of the corner tables, Kate Karev was sitting down on a wooden table, writing in her typical fast pace. Thomas smiled involuntarily. During the entire week, he had gone to the library every day after class to do his homework and every day he'd found her there, at that same spot. Before he could notice it, he'd begun to look forward to those moments.

Talking to Kate felt easy and not at all stressful. On the contrary. In her company, Thomas always found words of support and genuine concern. He couldn't explain what it was about Kate, but she felt comfortably familiar. Like being at home. Kate was the only person he felt that could see right through his eyes. Thomas looked again at the girl's cascade of dark brown hair, already anticipating its scent when he was abruptly brought back to reality by the arrival of Joey Avery.

Tom watched from a distance as their friend took a seat next to Kate. Judging by his gym bag, Thomas imagined Joey had probably just arrived from soccer practice. Once the boy realized that going over to Kate's side now that she had company wasn't as inviting as before, guilt started to consume him.

What was he doing? That wasn't right. If he was emotionally connected to someone who wasn't his girlfriend then he was very possibly cheating. That counted as cheating, didn't it? Thomas couldn't prefer Kate's company to Missy's. That was wrong and not at all loyal. The boy frowned in question and felt his headache intensifying. Even though he didn't want to, Thomas turned around and left the library, feeling the worst he remembered feeling ever since he'd start questioning his relationship with Missy.

.

Lucas shoved his locker after soccer practice, harder than he'd intended. He'd been so overwhelmed at school and at home that he'd barely had any time to think things straight yet.

On the previous Saturday, he'd found out details about Emily's life that had completely taken him by surprise. Never in a million years would Lucas have imagined that the strong, proud Emily Spencer came from such an emotionally distant family. She'd openly avoided him, skipping their tutoring session on Monday claiming she was sick. Then on Wednesday, she'd insisted they used the school grounds to study and had kept entirely focused on the Spanish topics, spending exactly sixty minutes with him. Lucas knew the tutoring sessions supposedly lasted one hour, but never before had Emily been so strict about it, for she usually would stay with him much longer. And at the minute he thought they would catch a break, the girl quickly left, ignoring him completely.

That Friday, Lucas had another tutoring session with her and this time he wouldn't let her get away without them talking first. He wanted to know more about Emily, how she felt and how she did what she did. And he wanted to apologize for his previous outburst.

To kill time between practice and his session with Emily, Lucas stayed behind after the soccer players left the field, training free kicks. He knew that those minutes alone kicking a soccer ball were the most relaxing time he would have that week, so Lucas used them well to think and ponder about everything that was happening in his life.

It was almost 3 pm when the teenager made it back to the locker room. Lucas had just closed his locker shut when he thought he heard a loud thumping noise, followed by a female giggle.

The boy furrowed an eyebrow, intrigued. The boys locker room was usually empty at that hour, considering everyone had finished training nearly one hour before. And no girls were allowed in there, which made Lucas' curiosity grow even higher about that giggle.

He followed the source of the noise, seeing it was coming from one of the supply rooms. Immediately, his face lit up with a dirty grin, imagining one of his team mates had brought over a girl considering the place would provide privacy at that hour.

Lucas shoved open the door, startling the couple that was making out against a shelf of video records and papers. The girl's uniform skirt was pulled all the way to her waist and the boy was only in his underwear. Lucas' smile immediately disappeared from his face, even though he wasn't wrong about his assumption.

One of his team mates _had_ taken a girl there. The young couple _had_ been making out.

But Lucas would never expect to find out that the two people inside the room were Matt Robbins and Missy van der Beek.


	10. Chapter 10

**My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 10**

Lucas froze on his feet, completely assaulted by the scene in front of him.

His eyes scanned the scenario. Matt Robbins, the guy who had been his brother's best friend their entire lives had his hands beneath Thomas' girlfriend skirt. And Missy, the prude girl who was always condemning Lucas about not preserving his virginity until after marriage had clearly been betraying her own words.

"I guess that image would go well with your yearbook picture for celibacy club," Lucas added sarcastically, disgusted at the scene. Despise was clear on his face as he went from Missy to Matt, raising his voice. "You son of a bitch. You'll tell him now or I will!"

"Luke, wait…!" Matt followed Lucas to the inside of the locker room, seeing the blonde teenager was about to leave. "Dude, I can explain this, I…"

Lucas turned around and easily pushed Matt against a cart of soccer balls without a moment's notice. Thomas' best friend crashed against the cart, making a loud noise but that didn't slow Lucas down. He took a step forward, intimidating Matt even more with his physical size before dangerously adding:

"If you don't tell my brother about how filthy the two of you are, I swear he won't be the only one who finds out about this," Abruptly, Lucas looked from Matt's coward face to Missy's scared eyes. The girl was visibly struggling to decide if she should flee the scene or tend to Matt's dizzy state after the physical hit. "How long has this been happening?" Lucas added, nauseated. "Right under everybody's nose!"

"It's not what it looks like, man…" Matt said, desperately trying to make Lucas listen. "I love Tommy, I would never hurt him on purpose, I just…"

Lucas crouched down and looked deeply into Matt's eyes.

"You piece of shit," He said, slowly and fiercely, intending to hurt Matt as deeply as Lucas knew his actions would hurt Thomas. "You're a dirty little scumbag who isn't worth shit to be anybody's first choice. That's why you warm the bench for Avery. That's why you take my brother's leftovers. And that's why your mom had you after your sister was taken away from her. You're nothing but a piece of garbage, Robbins. Get out of my face before I break you into two pieces."

Lucas violently pushed Matt back to the floor, taking two steps back. He took another look at Missy, feeling nauseated at the discovery he'd just made and quickly left the locker room, afraid he might make the situation even worse if he stayed any longer.

.

"You're not paying attention to anything I'm saying, are you?" Emily realized, after twenty minutes of explaining vocabulary words to Lucas without hearing back from him. She wasn't angry, but worried. The girl expected Lucas to pressure her into talking more about the conversation they'd had in his house a few days before, but he looked completely distracted instead.

"I am not," Lucas replied with his usual honesty. "Sorry. Today I just can't."

Emily looked deeply into his eyes, looking for any kind of insight into his soul. His eyes were usually very revealing, as Lucas was very open to the world, but the only thing she could find was distress. He seemed completely anguished, looking over at the rows of books piled up on the shelves near them in the library. They had finally been allowed back there and the fact that he hadn't made one joke about it when they'd walked into the room had gotten her worried from the start.

"Are you still mad at me?" She sheepishly asked, putting away the Spanish books.

Lucas had been lost in his own thoughts, being brought back to reality by the sound of her voice. He looked into her eyes, seeing the frown on her face. Emily seemed genuinely worried.

"I was never mad at you," Unconsciously, Lucas stretched out his hand and grabbed hers, giving it a squeeze of reassurance. "It's actually me who should be asking you that."

"Why?" Emily didn't know what he meant.

"Because I yelled at you when I should be offering you support instead."

"Hunt," Emily gently pulled her hand from beneath his, touched by his honest feelings. "You offered to help me and I refused it. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Emily," Lucas said and the girl felt a tingling sensation to hear her name being spoken through his lips. She identified the confusion in his voice as he asked, "What would you do if you knew about a situation but revealing it would hurt people you care about?"

Emily was surprised with the blunt question. Was Lucas talking about the two of them? She had a feeling he wasn't.

"Well…" She tried to think of what the best advice would be. "I guess you'd have to ask yourself if you really do need to reveal it."

"I do," Lucas said incisively. "I have to. Even though I know a lot of people are going to be disappointed by it."

Lucas didn't mean only Thomas. He knew that others would be heartbroken too when they found out. Matt's mom, for example. Kate Karev and Joey Avery, who had grown up being best friends with Thomas and Matt would also be let down to learn the truth.

"If you have to, then you have to." Emily advised, wisely. She wondered what Lucas was talking about, but she didn't want to pry. If he wasn't comfortable sharing, she wouldn't pressure him.

Emily was happy to be helping him with something other than school. The girl felt like Lucas had unknowingly offered her so much that she was desperate to give back. Every day that she'd gone to his house and spent time with his family had been a lesson. A reassurance, that there was more to life than verbal abuse, coercion and humiliation. And Emily needed to believe that with every fiber of her being in order to keep going.

Lucas was like a source of light, with his caring smiles, happy chatter and honest confessions. Over the past month, he'd become a kind hearted outlet in her life. He expected the very best in people and Emily had come to love that about him. She felt guilty for the unfair way she'd treated him in the past. Lucas was a nice guy and didn't deserve to be treated like an idiot.

"I am sorry I'm not paying attention to you today," Lucas said, with honesty. She'd told him that she was in his life only to teach him and even though that hurt him, he had to accept it. "I am completely wasting your time."

"It's okay, we all have bad days," She understood it perfectly. There were days when things were particularly troubling her too and she found it just as hard to focus on her obligations when distracted by something else entirely.

"I imagine you know a bit about that," Lucas looked at her very suggestively, his eyes filled with worry, and Emily knew he was talking about the reality she lived in.

"It's not that bad, honestly" The girl shrugged off, desperate to make him not pity her. Emily wished she hadn't told him about her life, just to preserve what they had. Her time tutoring him was one of the best moments of her week and Emily hoped they could remain friends even if they never talked about what she'd shared. "I might have exaggerated a bit. It's okay, Hunt. I am fine," She lied.

"I just care about you, you know?" He confessed, shaking his head in concern. "Anyways, I won't bother you with my problems anymore…"

"Hunt, don't," Emily grabbed his hand when he was about to get up. Emily didn't know why, but she stopped thinking completely and acted instinctively. As Lucas got up to leave, the girl caught up with him and slowly wrapped both arms around his shoulders. Lucas was surprised at first, but quickly he relaxed, involving her body with his arms too. He was strong and tall, so Emily didn't expect him to feel so soft at her touch. Before she could notice, Lucas' right hand was in her hair and she could feel his breath on the top of her head.

Emily lost count of how many seconds they stood there, in the tightest and most comforting hug she'd ever gotten in her life. She wanted to thank him for everything he'd done for her. And that was the best way she knew how to show Lucas she was sorry for the way she needed to guard her own feelings.

They slowly pulled apart and when she was able to see into his eyes, she noticed he looked a little less saddened. Emily expected things to be awkward between them, but when she saw the amused look on his face, she remembered that he was Lucas. He was never embarrassed. And he always had a witty comeback.

"You are so weird," Lucas confessed, smiling at her. "I never took you for a hugger."

Emily looked at him, offended at first but then she let out a chuckle, happy to see they were finally being themselves around each other again.

"I am not," She confessed. Physical contact wasn't really her thing and she felt uncomfortable to touch other people most of the time. "But you looked so sad and broken, you know, I thought you could use some support," She said with a grin, provoking him, but deep down she knew that hug hadn't been born out of pity.

"I see," Lucas raised one eyebrow, determined to tease her just as much. "You touched me with your boobs." He smiled dirtily, knowing that would make her uncomfortable.

Emily's expression quickly changed, going from amused to absolutely outraged. It didn't surprise him when she hit him on the arm with a closed fist.

"You never change, do you?" Emily looked at him, furious. "You are a disgusting pig!"

"I wasn't complaining," Lucas went on teasing her, doing what he knew she hated: flirting. "You know, one could very well say you were trying to seduce me and…"

"HUNT!"

Not surprisingly and not for the first or second time, they got angry glares from other students around them, who were using the library to study and wanted quietness.

"I am kidding, Spencer, chill…" Lucas nudged her with his shoulder as they left the library towards the hall. "Do you want to go grab a bite? I am hungry."

"Of course you are," Emily rolled her eyes.

"I have to say you're really short though, did you have like, a hormone problem when you were a kid? I think you could crash the fifth grade classroom and no one would notice you don't belong there because…"

Emily laughed as they walked down the hall together, hearing the rest of Lucas' provocation. He would openly tease her and make fun of absolutely everything she said for the following hours but she didn't mind. She was just happy they were finally back to normal again.

.

Amelia closed the notebook she'd been using, taking a look at what the kids were doing. A few meters away from her, Danny was playing videogames with Robbie. The boy had just gotten home earlier that day and it was flagrant on his face how happy he was to be reunited with his siblings. Robbie still needed a lot of care, especially with his wound, but lying on the couch playing games was something he could easily do while he recovered.

Megan soon came from the backyard, where she'd been playing with Peanut. The puppy was growing exponentially but he would still create a big mess if left unattended for more than a few hours.

"Did you change Peanut's water?" Amelia asked her daughter, even though she'd promised herself she wouldn't interfere with the caring for the dog.

"Yeah, I also added more food to his bowl," Megan happily took a seat next to the twins, asking to be included in the next round.

Amelia nodded her head and heard the buzzing of her cell phone, notifying a new email. She replied to the invitation, seeing she'd been asked again to a conference, to say a few words about her edgy surgical method that had granted her the Harper-Avery Award not too long before.

The minute Amelia pressed send, she meant to lock her phone screen, but to her surprise, the picture she used as a background had been changed. Historically, Amelia had always used a picture of her five kids, taken a couple of years before. They had all been snuggling on her bed after a hot summer day spent outside, their healthy flushed faces lighting up with their happy smiles. Amelia loved that picture and had never had the courage to change it ever since it'd been taken.

But now, the display of her phone showed a picture of herself with Owen. Amelia had never seen the photograph before and didn't know about its existence until now. It was a very ordinary image, except Owen was looking lovingly at her face as she was apparently saying something, looking distracted. He was standing close behind her, with one arm around her stomach.

It was a simple picture, but at the same time, it said a lot. Amelia felt her eyes tearing up as she stared at it. That picture represented perfectly what they were. She as usual talkative and all over the place, obviously rambling something she couldn't even remember now. And Owen, reserved, caring and always protective, making her feel completely at ease with his presence and his touch.

Amelia tried to hold back her emotions, but the truth was she felt completely devastated. Now that Robbie was home, safe and sound, she could slowly slip back into her normal life again. Except it didn't feel normal at all.

Not when Owen didn't look at her or replied to her questions only when absolutely necessary. Amelia knew he was in the kitchen cooking dinner for them. She had missed him, more than she could say. During the past week, they'd barely seen each other, and most of their conversation had been about the kids. Not once had Owen smiled at her and she knew how tired and hurt he must have been feeling. That night would be the first time they would both sleep on their bed together since their disagreement, seeing as they'd been taking turns sleeping with Robbie at the hospital. She knew they would eventually have to talk. Amelia planned to wait until after dinner when all the kids had gone to bed, but she couldn't. Not after the wave of emotions that had hit her in the last minute, after something as stupid as seeing a picture.

"Hey…" She entered the kitchen, with her hands in her pockets, trying to act as normal as possible.

Owen turned around quickly, surprised to see her there. He couldn't help looking towards the exit to the living room, wondering if anything had happened to Robbie to justify her coming to the kitchen, but Amelia quickly clarified:

"He is alright. They all are. I just came to see if you need help," She felt awkward to be walking on eggshells around him. She hated when they fought, especially when it was about something as serious as it had been.

"I'm good, thank you," Owen turned his back on her and resumed his cooking.

He was very disappointed at her and the way she'd spoken to him back at the hospital on the previous Sunday had hurt him more than Owen would like to admit. Over the week, it had been relatively easy to avoid her, but he knew they eventually would end up having a conversation. It was Amelia, after all, and Owen knew better after all those years.

"I paid the electricity bill," Amelia tried to get his attention again, even though she knew that small talk didn't work with him.

"Good to know we won't run out of power," Owen replied, more bitterly than he would have liked.

"Owen…" Amelia breathed in, taking three steps in his direction. "Babe, come on, look at me." He didn't and Amelia sighed heavily, hating that situation. "Please."

Finally, Owen did as asked. He folded his arms in front of his body, impatiently and unwillingly. Amelia noticed how his body language showed how uncomfortable with the situation he was and she wished she could somehow make it less hard for him.

"I am sorry," She started, knowing it would be better to get straight to the point.

"I don't know what for," Owen replied stubbornly, turning his back again to focus on the cooking.

"Damn it, Owen, please!" Amelia exploded, resenting how difficult he was being. "You know exactly what I am talking about."

Owen didn't say another word, but he turned around and looked at her. Amelia noticed how angry he seemed as he rested his hip against the counter, looking at her as if expecting her to continue.

"I know I was awful to you, and I am sorry," She said, with honesty. "We were both going through the same situation and it was horrible enough but somehow I made it all worse… I put my feelings and my anguish ahead or yours and it was completely unfair of me."

Owen seemed to ponder about her words for long seconds. Amelia was already startled at his silence when he finally opened his mouth, impersonally asking:

"Are you done?"

She looked at him, seeing how cold his eyes were. Realization hit her and Amelia couldn't help it. Exhaustion added to her fragile emotional state after that awful week made her lose control completely, breaking down convulsively.

"God, Owen, I am so sorry…" She sobbed, unable to contain herself. Her arms forcefully wrapped around him, "You have to forgive me, please," Amelia buried her face in his shirt, too embarrassed to look at him, hating herself for having acted the way she had towards him and for losing control so fragrantly. But she'd had the most awful week and she couldn't bear the idea of that nightmare not being over. "Babe, you have to forgive me…" Her hand automatically went to her neck as she said the words, holding onto the necklace he'd given her the week before. "I am calling the promise, you have to stick to the promise… Please, Owen, please…"

Owen heard her sobs as she soaked his shirt with her tears. He'd been disappointed in her, for the way she had selfishly put her own feelings and her own sorrow before his, when all he'd been doing was try to comfort her. But he knew about Amelia's troubled past and how she'd had to bury a son once. The previous Sunday had been the worst day of his entire existence. Seeing Robbie's life hanging by a thread had changed all his perspectives. He didn't wish the feeling to his worst enemy. And the thought that Amelia had been through that and much worse once made him wonder how she'd come back from it. Because he was sure if he'd lost his son, he would never be able to smile again.

"Damn it, Amelia," Owen took a deep breath and involved his arms tightly around her, feeling her sob even harder once she was inside his embrace. They had hurt each other and even though his cold attitude towards her had caused her pain, it was in him she looked for comfort. "I know," He tried to soothe her, feeling his anger vanishing. Seeing her cry was unbearable, but seeing her cry in so much pain completely devastated him. Owen pulled her even closer, watching as her head gently lifted to look into his eyes.

"I've gone through that once, Owen," Her eyes were swollen and red as she made her confession. "I wouldn't survive another loss. I am sorry I was such a bitch to you. I shouldn't have been so selfish."

"You won't have to go through that again," Owen looked deeply into her eyes, assuring her. "Ever. Robbie is here. He is fine. We are all fine."

Owen said the words with reassurance, making Amelia believe him.

"Please, don't turn your back on me again," She pleaded with a broken voice and Owen crushed her inside his arms, feeling her arms wrap around his neck as she sought comfort.

"Never, babe," Owen breathed her in, feeling awful for the way he'd treated her. "I am so sorry… It's okay. It's all good now."

He took his hand to her hair and gently caressed her, feeling Amelia slowly calming down. It had been a rough week on the two of them and Owen was glad it was finally over.

"Tell me you love me," Amelia said against his shirt, still unable to leave his embrace. She sounded very bossy and Owen couldn't help chuckling at her attitude.

"Do I even need to say it?" He held her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him. He noticed how her gorgeous blue eyes were sparkling among the tears. Owen touched his forehead to hers, anxious to see all the pain go away.

"Of course you need to say it," Amelia smiled shyly, playing with the top button on his chest, seeing how wet from her tears the fabric of his shirt was.

"I love you," Owen kissed her lips gently, "I love you," He repeated, bringing his head up and kissing the side of her face. "I love you." He hugged her again, determined to make her feel better. "Satisfied?" Owen asked, with a loving smile.

"Yeah, I kind of like you too…" Amelia teased him, making them both laugh. She dried the tears from her face using her shirt, unable to look away from his eyes. "We're good, right?" She asked, feeling Owen's arm involve her waist as he focused again on the food that had been neglected.

"We're good," Owen assured her, not letting go of his wife while he finished their dinner.

"I'm going to wash my face now," She let him know. "I don't want the kids to see me like this."

Owen finished preparing the meal as she left. In less than five minutes he felt her presence again when Amelia wrapped her arms on his waist from behind, holding him close as if afraid to lose him.

"That smells good," She noticed, feeling suddenly hungry.

"It'll be ready in a minute," Owen said, glad they had overcame their fight. He'd missed talking to her and being himself around the person who completed him.

"By the way, I loved the new picture on my phone." Amelia casually commented, knowing she was inconveniencing him by holding his body like that when he probably needed to move around to cook. But that didn't make her let go.

"What picture?" Owen asked distractedly, tasting the chicken sauce to see if it was already cooked.

"The one you put on my phone!"

"I didn't put a picture on your phone," Owen furrowed an eyebrow, gently turning sideways and looking at her in confusion.

Amelia was surprised for a minute but then it clicked.

"Megan," She rolled her eyes, answering her own question. But afterwards, Amelia couldn't help smiling at her daughter's sensibility. Megan was very good at reading emotions and it didn't surprise her that their daughter had noticed they hadn't been on good terms. "She is too smart for her own good. What a sneaky little meddler."

"Oh, really?" Owen pretended surprised. "I wonder where she gets that from…" He asked with playful sarcasm.

Amelia was just about to give him a snarky comeback when she heard the front door being opened and then violently shut down. Both she and Owen were startled and exchanged looks of surprise, hurrying to the living room after Owen turned off the stove.

They made it to the room where Megan and the twins were just in time to see Thomas storming up the stairs. Amelia looked from her daughter to her two younger sons, seeing they were just as confused as she was.

"Come on," She summoned Owen. "It'll be better if the two of us go."

.

They made it upstairs and Amelia instantly had a feeling something was very wrong. She looked at Owen questioningly but he shrugged, showing that he knew as much as she did.

"Tom?" Amelia gently called his name, after knocking on his door. "Are you in there?"

"I'm fine!" Thomas yelled from inside the room. Amelia looked at Owen and received a head nod in return. He had just agreed with her: Something was wrong. Thomas never yelled.

"We are going in," Amelia informed her son and before he could reply she grabbed the doorknob, entering the room.

Thomas was shirtless and Amelia had never seen his face looking that bad. There was a deep cut on his lower lip, dried blood stains on his silver blond hair and a lot of dirt on his white tennis shorts and on his face.

"Oh my God," Amelia's jaw dropped. Never in a million years would she have expected to see Thomas looking like that. She could see a black eye taking form and without ceremony grabbed his chin, taking a closer look at the damage. "What happened to you? Were you robbed? Thomas!"

"Tommy," Owen was just as surprised, but he noticed his son looked too calm to have been robbed or assaulted. Owen had been a sixteen year old boy once. He knew better. "Were you in a fight?"

Thomas measured his words, knowing he would never be able to lie to his parents. But to be honest, he didn't want to. There was no reason they shouldn't know what had just happened. The teenager scowled, feeling his ribs protesting when he moved his arm to put away his stained shirt.

"I've been in a fight for a long time, dad." Thomas said, mysteriously. "But it's over. It's all over now."

.

.

.

Thank you so much for your amazing feedback, you guys! I love hearing back from you.

 **Next on MBBF:**

Owen and Amelia confront Thomas about what happened. Lucas seeks Owen for advice. Owen and Amelia have a conversation about her past that leaves him intrigued.


	11. Chapter 11

**My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 11**

"What do you mean?" Owen's eyes were wide with shock when he took a step forward, holding Thomas' head between his hand to examine his son's wounds. "What happened to you?"

Amelia spotted the unshed tears threatening to leave Thomas' eyes and in that moment she knew something was seriously wrong.

"Tommy, what is it?" She asked, obviously concerned.

The sixteen year old hesitated, visibly struggling. Thomas was afraid that if he talked about it, it would become real. He knew that once he started telling his parents about what had happened, he would probably lose control over the entire situation. And losing control wasn't something Thomas was used to.

"I was just finishing with my tennis practice," Thomas shared in absolute distress, "When I saw both Matt and Missy coming towards me." He said, not sure if he would be able to continue. The unexpected stab in the back had hurt too much and Thomas felt like his physical wounds were nothing compared to how much his heart was aching. "They both look very jumpy so I knew right then something was off."

"What did she do?" Amelia asked defensively, visibly irritated.

Owen gave her a look of reprimand, visibly not approving of her assumption.

"She is an inconsiderate shrew who was just using me to make herself look better," Thomas realized, feeling anger starting to boil inside of him. In the past days he'd notice how selfish and self centered Missy really was, and he wondered how he could ever have been so stupid not to realize how much of a schemer she really was. "She's been using me this whole time," He shared, expecting his mother to gloat but finding concern in her eyes instead. Feeling grateful for having his mom's devoted loyalty, Thomas proceeded. "Today I found out she cheated on me," Both his parents looked at him in surprise, "In fact, I found out she has been cheating on me for a while now. And everything she has ever told me about who she is or what she believes in is actually a lie."

Amelia noticed how drained Thomas looked, so it didn't surprise her when he sat on the edge of his bed, looking completely defeated.

"I thought I was doing the right thing, you know?" He nodded his head in denial, wondering how he could have been so stupid. "I thought that it made perfect sense that I should date her… It's what everybody expected of me…" He realized, thinking back about the first time he had asked Missy out after his friends had told him she had chosen him to be the one. The following day after their date, Missy had decided they would be boyfriend and girlfriend and Thomas had been so utterly attracted to her that he didn't have the courage to even consider saying no.

"Tom," Amelia interrupted him, watching the boy immediately raise his head to look her in the eyes.

"She was cheating on me with Matt," Thomas blurted out, unable to contain his anger and his devastating disappointment. "With _Matt_ ", He reinforced, spitefully, still unable to believe that was actually real. It hurt too much.

"What?" Owen and Amelia asked in unison. None of them could believe it. Matt had been Thomas' best friend ever since they were little boys. They were completely devoted to each other and Owen couldn't believe Matt would purposefully do anything like that to Thomas.

But Amelia could.

She thought back about the time Mark Sloan had cheated on her brother with his wife. Mark and Derek had been best friends since childhood and yet the same thing had happened.

"Tommy, are you sure about this? I mean, maybe someone thought they saw something but…?"

"He told me himself," Thomas replied coldly, interrupting his mother. He gazed at the wall in front of him, completely numbed by the discovery he'd made that day. When Amelia realized Thomas was deeply lost, she looked from him to Owen, receiving a concerned glance back from her husband.

"Is that what happened?" Owen sat on the mattress next to Thomas, holding the back of the boy's head with one hand. "Did you fight with Matt?"

Thomas looked from the wall to his dad, and then to his mom. When his eyes went back to his father and Thomas noticed how hurt his parents were too, he finally relinquished control, burying his face on his father's shoulder out of embarrassment.

Amelia saw her son breaking down and her heart skipped a beat inside of her chest. All the satisfaction of knowing beforehand that Missy wasn't really one to be trusted didn't matter to her at the moment because of the price her son was paying. He had been put in a devastating situation and it broke her heart to see him like that. Thomas was honest and he didn't hold back. Once he was into something, he gave all of himself, without reservation. That's what the boy had done with Missy but in return, he'd only gotten back lies and betrayal. And Amelia knew he deserved so much better.

Slowly, she sat down on his other side, still cringing at the sight of his clothes and hair. Her eyes also noticed the knuckles of his right hand, stained by dark bruises. Apparently, the fight had been a bloodbath. It was very unlike Thomas to hit someone. Amelia remembered Lucas getting into physical fights with other boys in school a few times in the past, but that had never been a concern with Thomas. He had always been kind, good and generous. And that was how life was treating him. It was not at all fair.

"I am so sorry, Tommy," She gently grabbed his hand, hating to see him suffering that much. Amelia hoped she never saw Missy in her life again, otherwise she wouldn't take responsibility for her actions. "I can't imagine how heartbroken you must feel."

"It hurts to be cheated on," Thomas raised his head slowly, finally coming up for fresh air. His face had turned into a scowl of pain and anguish. "But to be betrayed hurts even more."

Amelia knew he was talking about Matt. She still found it hard to believe Thomas' best friend would do anything like that. They were like brothers. Matt had always been a little careless and at times, even a bit selfish. But Amelia knew he loved her son like a brother.

"What has gotten into Matt?" Owen asked, pretty much reading Amelia's mind. "How could he have done this?"

"He said," Thomas repeated, feeling completely shattered, "That he is in love with her. That he didn't plan on it, it just happened and they knew they could never be a thing because Missy and I were already a thing… But I know Matt feels like he is not worthy of her," Thomas spoke, unemotionally. He was so drained it felt like there was no emotions left to feel. "Missy knew about it and she didn't care about me or Matt. She just likes the attention." Thomas could vividly remember the look of innocence on her face as she'd pressed him against a wall, teasing him and then saying they couldn't because she was a virgin. He had actually believed she was innocent and he had admired how determined and decided she supposedly was, standing up for her beliefs. "And then Matt said I should just hit him already because there was no excuse for what he'd done." Thomas remembered, with sadness. "So I did."

"You did?" Amelia raised an eyebrow, worried. That was very unlike Thomas.

"If it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have," The teenager confessed, knowing he was telling the truth. "I mean, not for her. She's not worth it," He said, absolutely sure of it. "But…" Thomas couldn't find the words. What he was feeling couldn't be described. He would have taken a bullet for Matt and this is how he had been rewarded. "Matt deserved it. I had to." He added, certain of it. "I had to, you know?"

Owen nodded in agreement, knowing very well how sometimes a person had to stand up for themselves. If Thomas hadn't let his anger out, it would probably have consumed him even more, culminating with resentment later on. In situations like those, it was better to act in the heat of the moment than to store the feelings inside as bitterness.

"You do know that getting into a physical fight isn't the way of solving anything though, don't you?" Amelia asked, hating that she had to educate her son even she couldn't blame him. In his place, she would have done exactly the same. Or much worse.

"What do you want?" Thomas asked sheepishly. "My cell phone? The computer?" It honestly didn't matter. At that moment, Thomas felt like nothing would ever be able to bring him any satisfaction ever again.

"You're grounded for two weeks," Owen decided, realizing that Amelia had a valid point and that it was hard on her to reinforce it. "You know why we have to do this, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Thomas let out a heavy sigh, not worried about his punishment. Nothing could hurt more than what Matt had done.

"Come on, Tom," Owen stood up and guided his son to do the same. "Go take a shower and wash that blood and dirt. We'll put some ice on that eye when you're done."

Owen and Amelia watched as their son walked to the bathroom without another word, looking lifeless, still in complete shock.

"This is absurd," Amelia looked at Owen when Thomas was already out of their hearing range. "What are we going to do?"

"Nothing," Owen surprised her with his answer. "He is sixteen, Amelia. This is his first heartbreak. He has to feel it to get over it."

"Did you see how devastated he was?" Amelia couldn't believe her husband was seemingly so comfortable with the situation. "Owen, we can't let him stay like that."

"Babe," Owen held her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes, making an effort to make her see it. "He is not a child anymore. You can't shield him from the world. He'll have many more heartbreaks and disappointments in his life. I know it sucks and it kills me to see him in pain too, but there's nothing we can do other than be here for him."

"I want to kill Missy," Amelia confessed, breathing out through her nose, dangerously. "I want to choke her until her eyes pop out from her face."

"And Matt?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think he is secretly Mark Sloan's child and Arizona never told us about it."

Owen let out a chuckle and grabbed Amelia's arm, conducting her to the stairs before she did anything stupid. "You've been watching too many horror movies," He smiled at her shyly, knowing she wouldn't be okay until Thomas was okay. "Come on, let's go grab some ice for Tom."

.

"Hey, man."

Lucas looked up and saw the familiar eyes of Joey Avery staring at him. He'd been seated on the bench inside the locker room, trying to untie his shoelaces for what felt like ten minutes.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked with a frown of concern. "You look very distracted."

Lucas shook his head, trying to make his traveling mind come back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Lucas nodded in encouragement. "Great header today, Avery. I couldn't have done it better myself." The boy added, genuinely impressed by his teammate.

"No way you couldn't have, but thanks," Joey smiled, blushing. "I appreciate the extra encouragement."

"We're going to crush those losers from Memorial High… Did you see they play on a 4-3-3? I think I'll set up a…"

"Are you really okay?" Joey interrupted him, trying not to see too much into things. Lucas looked lost. "I've heard what you did for your brother. It was very honorable."

Lucas stopped his chatter for a moment and breathed in, still not believing the discovery he'd made in that same locker room just the week before. Thomas had been crushed after finding out Matt had broken his trust and Lucas had never seen his brother in a worse shape.

"Yeah, I definitely wasn't expecting to see that or to be put in that position," The teenager confessed. "But at least Robbins had the decency to tell Tommy himself."

"Kate and I can barely look at him in the eye, to be honest," Joey confessed, unable to take his eyes off Lucas. His blonde eyelashes were very long and very distracting.

"You're a good guy, Avery," Lucas finally looked at him again and stood up, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "My brother is very lucky to-"

Lucas' sentence got cut in the middle as he felt one hand pushing the back of his neck against an eager kiss.

"What the fuck?!" Lucas immediately pushed away, more roughly than he would have liked, making Joey take two steps back to regain balance. "Are you out of your mind?" He asked with disbelief, seeing how wide Avery's eyes had gotten.

Joey looked as shocked by his action as Lucas, but that wasn't at all a comfort. Luke noticed he shrunk, as if afraid Lucas would hit him.

"What the hell, Avery, have you gone crazy?" Lucas raised his voice, still in shock about what had just happened. "I'm a dude!"

Lucas was about to ask if Joey had failed to notice that but then he saw something else behind the embarrassment on his friend's face. It wasn't regret or confusion. It felt very much like disappointment.

"Did you plan this?" Lucas asked, disgusted at that idea.

"No!" Joey replied with honesty. "I am sorry," He declared, completely embarrassed. "The way you looked at me, I thought… I thought you were into it too," Joey confessed.

" _What?"_ Lucas asked, unable to believe the situation. "I was just being nice!"

"I know now, I am sorry!" Joey looked like he wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury his head in it. "Please don't tell anyone!"

Lucas was really confused and he wondered why Avery didn't look the same.

"Wait, man, are you…" Lucas then thought about what he had once said to Emily. He had never seen Joey with a girl. Or even talking about girls. He used to hang out a lot with Kate Karev, and she was openly considered his best friend. Now that Lucas thought it about, it suddenly made perfect sense. "Avery, are you gay?"

.

Owen had just finished putting dinner in the oven when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw his eldest son looking very grim.

He stared at Lucas questioningly, indicating his son should speak.

"What is it?" Owen asked straightforwardly, seeing the boy was visibly struggling. "What happened?" His guess was that Lucas had unsurprisingly done something out of line in school and was pondering about the best way to tell his father.

"Dad, have you ever had a dude coming on to you?"

The surprise was evident on Owen's face when he frowned heavily, wondering where that question was coming from.

"What do you mean?" He furrowed an eyebrow. Was Lucas trying to tell him something? "Are you asking me this because…?"

"No!" After seconds of trying to understand his father, Lucas saw the hypothesis on his face. "No, dad. It's not about me. I am asking you this because one of the guys on the soccer team made a move on me."

"Oh," Owen replied, finally understanding the situation. If Lucas had confessed he liked other guys he would do his best to support his son, but seeing as Lucas was with a different girl every week, it would definitely have been a surprise. "Well, what did you do?" Owen asked, sweeping those thoughts out of his mind.

"I got very mad," Lucas confessed feeling embarrassed. "To be honest, I felt a little harassed, you know? 'Cause he just came on to me and I didn't see it coming."

"I see," Owen listened, looking at his son with comprehension. "Did you tell him that?"

"No, I just shoved him away and…" Lucas sighed heavily. "I was very upset at the moment but then I realized he looked just as shocked, I mean… I don't think he was forcing himself onto me, you know? I think it was an impulse… It didn't feel like he was being malicious or anything but then, dad," Lucas looked very confused. "It got me worried and I was wondering what should I do?" The boy grabbed a bottle of water and played with it between his hands, visibly distressed. "I keep thinking, maybe he doesn't have anyone to talk to about this, you know?" Lucas looked from his hands to his father. "I mean, I don't care if he's gay… He shouldn't be ashamed of it or hide it, right?"

"Well," Owen leaned on the counter and folded his arms in front of his body, trying to see things through the best perspective. "Sometimes it's not as black and white, Luke. Try to be in his shoes. If he's on the soccer team, it must be harder on him. How many soccer players do you know that are openly gay?" Owen asked, seeing Lucas frowning in response, surprised by his own answer to that question. "You live here and you know that if you felt attracted to guys, mom and I wouldn't love you any less for it. But is your friend's family the same?" Owen raised both eyebrows in question. "Do you know if his parents would accept it? Maybe he is afraid." Owen pondered, seeing Lucas visibly was thinking it through. "And all that considering he is sure about his sexuality. You guys are seventeen, bud. It's not uncommon not to be sure and have doubts. You can't judge him for not doing what you would do."

"Yeah," Lucas frowned, thinking about how biased he had been. "I am pretty sure some of the guys on the team would treat him differently if they found out," Lucas was certain about that. It wasn't right, but he knew that didn't stop people from spreading hate around. "And now thinking about it… Honestly I am not sure if his family would be okay with it. His mom is very religious."

"If he is your friend," Owen said, taking a step forward and squeezing Lucas' shoulder while looking him in the eye. "Then you should be there for him. He is probably ashamed of what he did and will stay away from you. So you should go to him and talk. Explain how you feel and let him know he can be himself around you," Owen said, wisely. "What he probably needs the most right now is understanding and reassurance that it's okay to be exactly who he is."

"But I'm just one person, dad." Lucas said, feeling bad. It wasn't fair that people were so prejudiced.

"One person is better than no person," Owen advised. It was obvious his son cared about the other boy, or he wouldn't have looked for fatherly advice on the matter.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Lucas decided he would look for Joey the following day and make sure the guy knew there were no hard feelings and that Joey didn't have to hide who he was from Lucas anymore.

"You're a good person, Luke." Owen smiled at him. "And you're an even better friend."

Lucas shyly smiled back in response. Quickly his eyes became filled with mischief and Owen knew he'd throw in one of his witty comebacks when they were interrupted by Megan, who barged into the kitchen with a heavy sigh.

"Just because Robbie is sick he can get away with everything!" She complained, visibly upset. Not giving her father and brother time to ask, Megan continued. "It's not fair that every day he gets to pick what we'll watch on the TV. He always chooses annoying Marvel movies!"

"You have a TV in your room," Owen reminded her.

"It's not as big, though!" Megan lashed out.

"You know what I think?" Owen nudged her nose playfully. "I think you're not used to not being the spoiled one," He smiled, seeing she was irritated and couldn't deny what he was saying. "Why don't you go outside and check on Peanut's food bowl since you're already here?"

"But it's Wednesday," Megan frowned, obviously irritated. "It's not my day to care for Peanut."

"Well, it's Robbie's day and he's not in any condition to go outside so you be a team player and go do it, okay?" Owen ruffled her hair, seeing his daughter storm out of the house through the back door, angrier than when she'd arrived.

"You do know Tom already fed and cleaned Peanut today, don't you?" Lucas asked, drinking from the water bottle.

"Of course I know," Owen replied, with a teasing smile. "But Megan doesn't," He added, visibly satisfied with himself.

.

"What is it?" Owen asked from the bed, seeing Amelia walking into the room with a heavy frown on her face. She bit her lip with worry before finally looking at him.

"I'm worried about Tom," She confessed, closing the door after her. It was past eleven and all the kids were already in their beds. "He's been quiet, he doesn't eat, doesn't talk. I haven't seen him smiling or being motivated about anything and I don't know what else to do to cheer him up."

"He is sad, Amelia," Owen said objectively. "He's just suffered a huge blow and he is grieving. It's normal. I'd be worried if he were walking around with a smile on his face like nothing has happened."

"Yeah, you have a point," She admitted, hating knowing her son was in pain. Amelia went in the closet and chose an old T shirt that was too oversized for her. She stripped off to her panties and put on the comfortable piece, feeling Owen's smell through the fabric.

"You know, I had a funny conversation with Luke today," Owen told her, amused. "You know what he asked me?" After seeing the look of interest in Amelia's face, he answered his own question. "He asked if I had ever been hit on by a guy."

The confusion was evident on Amelia's face, so Owen described all the details of the conversation he'd had with their son earlier that evening, seeing she felt as proud of Lucas as he did.

"Well, what was your answer?" She asked with a dirty smile on her lips, crawling on the bed next to him.

"What answer?" Owen frowned.

"Has a guy ever hit on you?" She asked, having fun at how he seemed uncomfortable with the idea.

"No," Owen said incisively. "Not like that at least. I've heard lines but that was it. No one ever groped me," He summed up, clearly not excited about the idea of being with another man. "What about you?" He asked without pretense, knowing his wife clearly liked the opposite sex, judging by over the years she had often made many comments about his body and how turned on she was by it. "Have you ever played for the same team?"

"Well…" Amelia looked away, with a smile growing on the corner of her lips.

"Amelia!" Owen looked immediately at her, not believing she was serious. "Really?" His eyes were wide with shock and amusement.

"Well, it was just once."

"How come you never told me about this?" He interrupted her, eager to find out more.

"I was an intern," Amelia confessed, seeing how his eyes were sparkling at her description. "We had a party one night, right after our board exams and everyone was seriously drunk, with the exception of me," She confessed. He knew she had had an alcohol problem since her late teens and the fact didn't surprise Owen. But it was obvious he was vividly imagining everything she was saying. "When I came home to my flat one of the girls who were drunk tried to kiss me and I let her. We made out and it was fun at the time," She confessed. "But that was it. Not that exciting," She confessed, amused at how he was disappointed with her short story. "I prefer something else," Amelia slid her hand through his naked torso very suggestively.

"You're not supposed to say that!" Owen complained, frowning, even though he was immediately turned on by her touch. "Girl on girl is only sexy when they are enjoying it," Owen sighed, frustrated. "Damn it, Amelia, you ruined it for me."

Amelia laughed, having fun with his response.

"How about me on you?" She asked seductively, caressing his abs with lust in her eyes.

Owen grabbed her face between his hands, kissing her with passionate desire at the same time he rolled over to her top.

"I still would have liked to hear dirty details, though." He added, grumpily.

"Would you like to hear me saying I fantasize about you with a guy?" She asked, with mock reprimand, loving that she was making him suffer.

Owen scowled immediately, obviously dreading the idea.

"Men are all the same," She rolled her eyes at him, feeling his body pressed harder against her. Amelia moved her hips upwards, suggestively pressing his.

"Maybe," Owen looked deep into her eyes with such intensity that he felt Amelia's heart beat racing against his chest. He grabbed her arm and put it above their heads, kissing her on the exact spot the blood was pulsating on her slim wrist. "If there is also one thing men agree on," He stated, brushing his lips against the column of her neck. "Is that we don't like to share what's ours."

"Really?" Amelia gasped for air when his hand invaded the inside of her panties, grabbing her butt with force while he pulled her hips against his even harder.

"Really." Owen looked up and saw how her eyes were sparkling. He nipped her lower lip seductively, feeling her melt under his touch. "Maybe the reason why it's so hot to think about you with another girl is because I can't," Owen looked into her eyes and Amelia noticed the intensity of his gaze, " _absolutely can't_ imagine you with another guy."

"I am not sure if that's the most offensive," Amelia laughed when he pulled the collar of her shirt down to expose a part of her breast, "or sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

"Let's stick with the latter one," Owen suggested, pulling the shirt further down and brushing his lips on her skin, loving how soft it was.

Amelia felt his hands going down on her body, pulling off her panties with experience. She tried to roll over to be on top, but Owen didn't let her, obviously on purpose. When he looked at her with mischief, tempting and teasing her at the same time, Amelia smiled sweetly.

Too sweetly, Owen thought.

He could tell she was up to something and before he had time to ask her about it, Owen felt her fingernails digging deeply on his back, clearly in retaliation. He flinched instinctively, being assaulted by a sharp wave of pain. Owen looked at her outraged, seeing the smile of clear satisfaction stamped on her face.

"Ohh," Owen chuckled, looking at her with predator's eyes. "That's how we're going to play this, then?"

"No!" Amelia was torn between her will to laugh and her need to keep a straight face to intimidate him. Owen was much bigger and stronger, and competing with him for physical dominance was a sure loss, unless she played low. And luckily for Amelia, she knew exactly how to.

Owen smiled when he saw her frowned face, obviously dreading the situation she'd put herself in. He immobilized her, watching with pride as his wife struggled to free her arms. Playing these games with Amelia was at the same time painful and very rewarding. He knew very well how to measure his strength to tease without hurting her, but Amelia didn't seem to have the same concern. She would use all her assets if she had to, and that made that game even more challenging to Owen. Completely overtaking her was something he enjoyed very much, because his wife looked even hotter when she was mad.

"How are you so delicious?" Owen touched his nose to hers before devouring her lips, kissing her with erotic desire. He felt her reciprocating his kiss, willingly. When he finally pulled apart, Amelia took advantage of his distraction and took her hands to his hair, swiftly running her fingernails on his scalp. She knew it drove him crazy with pleasure and watched with delight as he closed his eyes, drowning in desire.

Amelia loved how Owen could oscillate between roughly intense and incredibly sweet. In one minute, he was looking at her as if he was going to take her there and then, and in the next he was whispering loving words in her ear, looking at her the way only Owen knew how.

"You're not fighting me anymore?" She asked, seducing him with her eyes.

Owen took one hand to her face and held her jaw with his open palm, using his thumb to brush her lips while his eyes seemed to burn with fire.

"Oh, I'm going to fight you alright," He decided, teasingly running his thumb on the outline of her lips. "Don't bite me," He ordered, knowing very well she wouldn't hesitate to.

Amelia opened her mouth in clear defiance and gently involved his thumb with her teeth, pressing it just enough to get a hold of him without hurting his hand. Owen looked at her overwhelmed with desire and when she finally involved his thumb with her lips, swiftly touching the tip of it with her tongue, he lost all control.

"You won," He bent over and playfully whispered in her ear, completely seduced by her.

Owen subsided, on purpose rolling on his back and bringing her to his top. Amelia was wearing only his shirt and when she found herself on top of him, she straddled his hips, splaying her open palms on his chest.

He looked deeply into her eyes with a mix of desire and mirth, running his hands on her naked thighs while gently squeezing them. Owen loved her legs. They felt amazing when wrapped around his hips.

"You're a witch," He teased her, staring lovingly at his wife. "What should I do with you?"

"Tonight I'll be the only doing anything," Amelia informed him, smiling provocatively while she sat up and removed her shirt slowly, taking her time to torture him. When she was done, she threw the piece of cloth aside, feeling his grip around her thigh tighten. Obviously tempting him, she bent over and kissed Owen with passion, breaking their kiss to nibble his lower lip provocatively.

He felt her small hands supporting the delicate weight of her body on his chest and contracted his muscles in response. Amelia used her nails to arouse him, being much gentler with her scratching this time. While she conquered his lips with hers, Owen got rid of his pajamas bottoms and underwear, finding himself lying on his back on their bed against the pillows while Amelia traced a line of wet kisses from his neck to his chest.

"I can't wait to see where that journey will end," He looked at her with the dirtiest smile on his lips.

"If you're patient," Amelia put one hand on each side of his hip, "You'll find out."

Owen could very well feel his blood rushing straight to his lower abdomen and pelvis, driving him more excited by the second. When Amelia finally reached the middle of his thighs, he closed his eyes enjoying the touch of her lips right where she knew he enjoyed the most.

"God, woman…" Owen's voice was barely a hoarse whisper. "Whatever you want, it's yours… Just don't stop what you're doing."

Amelia smiled mischievously, rejoicing in how easy and enjoyable it was to conquer him. Satisfied with her performance, she kept on teasing her husband until she couldn't wait anymore herself. Owen opened his eyes and smiled at her when she moved to his top again, straddling his hips at the same time she joined their bodies.

"I don't plan on stopping," Amelia returned his smile, feeling his hands pulling her hair to the back of her shoulders, gently caressing her.

"Good," Owen approved, pulling her head towards his so he could kiss her. "The more you, the better," He said with flattery, touching her forehead with his while she kept swaying her hips on top of him.

"Babe, are you almost there?" Amelia held onto his head for support and intensified her rhythm. "I am," She confessed, hoarsely. "I can't hold it any longer."

"Then don't," Owen demanded, watching as she lost total control of her body while reaching climax. Seeing the wave of pleasure assaulting her made him reach orgasm too and soon after, she collapsed on his chest, resting her head between his neck and shoulder.

"This is the best game ever," Amelia said minutes after, when she recovered her breath. She could feel the warmth of Owen's skin against her lips as she spoke, so she breathed him in with delight.

"Yeah," Owen agreed, caressing her hair with his right hand while his left struck her thigh tenderly. "I loved losing it to you."

Amelia laughed, slowly lifting her head to look at him. Owen watched her bend over right after their eyes had met, kissing him with sweet playfulness.

"You said I could have everything I wanted," Amelia reminded him, feeling his arms hugging her waist.

"Oh God," Owen rolled his eyes with pretend impatience. "When will I ever learn?" He asked, looking at her with an amused smile.

"Never, I hope," Amelia smiled back, enjoying their sweet banter. She took her fingers to his face and gently caressed his jaw, feeling the roughness of his shaved skin. "Are you growing a beard?" She asked, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Do you want me to?" He rubbed her back while she stared lovingly into his eyes.

"Yes," Amelia whispered, turning her playful caress into a sweeter one.

"Well," He breathed out heavily, smiling with delight at her when Amelia kissed his knuckles repeatedly. "I guess I have no choice then," He pulled her closer, eager to fall asleep with her naked in his arms. "After all, I did say I'd give you anything you wanted."

"Everything I wanted," Amelia corrected him, feeling Owen playfully pinch her waist when he heard her rebellious response.

"Everything you want," Owen repeated with a smile on his lips, slowly falling asleep.

"Owen?" Amelia tried to catch his attention when she noticed he was dozing off.

"Hmm? He replied distractedly, already half unconscious. Amelia put her head on his shoulder again, finally closing her eyes when he firmly wrapped her in his arms.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

.

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Thank you so much for your support, guys! I love hearing back from you. We're almost at the end now, two more chapters and we wrap this up!

 **Next on MBBF:**

It's Thanksgiving and the Hunt family welcomes a surprise guest for dinner. Thomas and Kate are forced to deal with their reality.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for the amazing support! You guys are awesome! So, this is the penultimate chapter. I haven't yet written chapter 13 because I'm on vacation with my family but I will try my very best not to take more than 2 or 3 days to post it. Thank you all so much for the feedback!

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 **My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 12**

Owen closed the door to the living room after him, excited to be home. After three weeks of working for intense hours, both he and Amelia would finally have time off for the Thanksgiving long weekend. He was excited to be with her again, seeing as his wife had spent the last two weeks traveling almost all the time to speak in conferences around the country.

He knew she'd arrived earlier that day and was probably spending time with their children, catching up with them after being absent for so long.

"Hey," He found Amelia in the kitchen in the company of Thomas and the twins. "You're home."

Owen walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the temple, watching as the twins helped Thomas unload a dozen of grocery bags.

"Don't pick up weight, Robbie!" Amelia reprimanded him, taking a heavy can off his hands. The boy had had his splenectomy roughly a month before but his mother still treated him like he had just been discharged from the hospital.

"When did you guys get all this?" Owen raised an eyebrow in question, seeing the insane amount of supplies spread all around.

"I went shopping for tomorrow's dinner with Tom," Amelia shared, with a smile. Owen was cooking Thanksgiving Dinner for them the following day. "We didn't know what you'd need, so we basically just got everything."

"That's pretty obvious," Owen smiled, looking through the countless bags of groceries. "Good to see you leaving the house, bud," Owen gave Thomas a pat on the back.

"Yeah, about that," The teenager leaned over on the counter, using his elbows for support. "I wanted to apologize to you guys about how broody and anti-social I've been lately… I needed some time to think but I think I'm finally okay now." Thomas smiled discreetly. Amelia loved seeing his dimples finally showing again.

"No need to apologize," Owen gave him a look of support. "I'm glad for you. We all are."

"Guys, can you go to the car to get the last batch of bags?" Amelia asked, trying to sort the groceries on the counter. "Not _you_ , Rob!"

Thomas left with Danny and Robbie followed them, promising he wouldn't get any of the heavy bags.

"How much stuff did you get?" Owen looked at her with exasperation. Amelia always exaggerated. "Are more people coming to dinner tomorrow that I still don't know about?"

"I don't think so," Amelia looked at him and smiled when their eyes met. "I just couldn't decide what to buy, honestly."

"So your family won't come?" Owen asked, knowing some of Amelia's family usually decided last minute.

"Nope," She confessed, unaffected by it. "They do expect us in New York for Christmas, though."

"We have to buy the tickets in advance then," Owen realized, seeing as the holiday was less than a month away and traveling with five kids was never easy. "How was Cleveland?" He asked, delightfully watching Amelia crouching down to sort through the bags.

"Meeeh," She replied, uninterested, sniffing what looked like crystallized fruits. "What is this?"

"You got it and you don't know what it is?" Owen took a step in her direction as she stood up. She had become so close to him that he couldn't resist wrapping both arms around her and bending over to smell her amazing scent.

"I have absolutely _no idea_ what it is," Amelia confessed with good humor, feeling the touch of Owen's lips on the side of her face. "Ohh," She moaned playfully when his hand went beneath her shirt, squeezing the curve of her waist. "This is a proper hello," Amelia teased him with a smile, laughing hard when Owen grabbed her hips and sat her on the kitchen counter, standing between her legs.

"You haven't seen the proper hello yet," He smirked, burying his face on the curve of her neck while Amelia's fingers smoothly ran through his hair, caressing him while she pulled him closer.

Amelia wrapped her legs around his hips, firmly holding her husband before forcing him nearer. Owen's hand kept contact with the skin of her back, while his other hand gently held her face. She smiled widely right before their lips met, anticipating how much she was going to enjoy their kiss.

"Oh, God!" They pulled apart at the sound of Lucas' voice, turning around to see their eldest son dodging the grocery bags spread all around. The boy was reaching for the fridge, rolling his eyes at the sight of his parents.

"What?" Amelia smiled, loving that he was annoyed by it. "I just got home today. I can't miss dad?"

"Yeah, you can, but why do I have to see it?" Lucas got a red apple from the fridge, taking a bite before replying with a teasing smile, "No one likes to imagine their parents doing _it._ Much less seeing it."

"Oh, please, Luke, we were just kissing," Amelia replied impatiently but amused, jumping from the counter back to the floor.

"That's the kind of kiss that gets you pregnant, you know?" He smiled mischievously, seeing the look of horror on his mom's face while his father couldn't hide a smile.

"What would you know about that?" She playfully pinched his ear in reprimand, stealing a bite from his apple.

"Well," Lucas gave her one of his most charming smiles, foreseeing his comment would annoy his mom. "The same way you like to pretend I don't engage in those activities, I pretend you guys also don't," He looked deeply into her eyes, seeing she had become a bit embarrassed. "But having to see you guys doing it on the counter in broad day light kind of ruins the lie, doesn't it?"

"You're a smartass, aren't you?" Amelia tried to contain her laughter. "Just remember to wrap it to go when you're out spreading the joy, alright?" She added with a sound sigh. Amelia knew Lucas wasn't a virgin anymore and even though she dreaded the idea, she and Owen had already had countless conversations with him about safe sex and why it was so important that he took care of himself.

"I make no apologies for who I am," Lucas flirted, seeing his mother giving up on trying to be serious with him.

Soon enough, Thomas and Danny got back from the garage carrying more bags of groceries while Robbie came from behind them, proudly flashing a bag of toilet paper.

"Thank you, boys." Amelia took a step forward, trying once again to organize the kitchen.

"You're welcome," Robbie replied with a broad smile. "What?" He asked innocently when his two brothers looked judgingly at him, "I helped." He justified, losing his smile instantly.

"Where is Meg?" Owen asked, stepping up to help take the bags to the pantry.

"Upstairs doing her homework," Amelia informed. "She said her teacher gave them homework for the four days of the holiday but she plans on finishing it all today to be free for the weekend."

"We should just go out to dinner or order something," Owen decided, seeing the kitchen was in no shape of being used to cook that evening.

"Hey Tom, can you go get your sister?" Amelia agreed with him. "Let's go out, I don't want to deal with this mess anymore," She decided, leaving the grocery bags behind.

Owen rolled his eyes, impatiently, knowing that as usual, storing and organizing everything would be left to him.

.

"Hey," Thomas walked into Megan's room, seeing the door was open. He noticed the girl was lying down on her stomach with a book propped on a pillow. His little sister's bedroom had light yellow walls, with white furniture and lots of details in pastel green. Thomas thought it suited her very well.

"Come see this," Megan smiled at him and moved to the side, giving room for Thomas on the bed.

The teenager did as told, lying on his stomach too, seeing the book his sister was reading.

"This is a cat," Megan pointed out and then flipped the page around. "But if you turn it around, it becomes a rabbit," She laughed at her own realization. Thomas couldn't contain a chuckle once he noticed she made absolute sense.

"Mom and dad asked me to come get you," He informed. "We're going out to dinner."

"Yes!" Megan celebrated, getting up to go put on new clothes. She noticed Thomas lying on her bed, looking tired. "Are you still sad about your ex girlfriend, Tommy?" Megan tried to be gentle. "You know she doesn't deserve it."

Thomas laughed at her devoted loyalty and agreed with a head nod.

"I know it must be harder than it looks." The girl said wisely. "Did you really love her?"

Thomas frowned, intrigued. That was a question no one had really asked him before. It took him long seconds and careful analysis to finally be satisfied with an answer.

"It wasn't love, I guess," He looked at his sister, smiling widely. "I was into her, but it didn't get much deeper than that." Megan seemed satisfied with his answer and seeing the look on her face, Thomas added. "You know how all the time the Buttercups in my school bag disappear?" He raised an eyebrow in question and the guilt was stamped on Megan's face when he looked at her. "Even though I know they will be _taken_ ," The boy teased, knowing Megan couldn't even pretend it wasn't her who often stole his candy bars, "I still put them there in the same place, every week." Thomas completed, seeing a smile growing on his sister's lips. "That's love."

The little girl walked up to Thomas and wrapped her arms firmly around him. He didn't need her to say any words because that hug already said everything.

.

"Are you sure Evelyn won't come?" Amelia asked her husband, watching him cook the Thanksgiving Turkey.

"Yeah, she's going over to my uncle's house but she might travel to New York with us for Christmas," Owen informed her, keeping busy with the cooking.

Amelia was about to reply when they heard the loud sound of the doorbell. She looked at Owen questioningly, but he shrugged in response, indicating he also had no idea who it could be. Since none of the kids were on the bottom floor, Amelia made her way to the living room.

To her surprise, when she opened the front door, she found a young man with shiny blonde hair, slim figure and her brother's eyes.

"Bailey!" She cheered, pulling him in for an embrace. His presence was unexpected but very welcome. "What are you doing here?" Amelia asked with a big smile as they pulled apart. "Come in."

Bailey followed her inside, taking off his coat as he replied:

"Well, I haven't come home for a while now and I thought I might surprise everyone for thanksgiving," He smiled and Amelia's heart constricted as she noticed how much he looked like Derek.

"Is your mom coming too?" Amelia asked with excitement. She had invited both Maggie and Meredith for dinner, but the first sister was spending thanksgiving with her husband's family and Meredith had turned her down saying she would be on call later at the hospital.

"No," Bailey's smile slowly disappeared as he looked around, embarrassed. "She doesn't know I'm here, to be honest," The young man gave his aunt a pleading look. "Please, Aunt Amelia, don't tell her." Amelia gave him an assertive nod in response, but her eyes asked the question her lips hadn't. "It's just…" Bailey confessed, obviously struggling with guilt. "If I go there, it's just going to be me, mom and Nate and then she will probably get a call from the hospital in the middle of dinner, as usual… And then she's going to rush to the hospital and once again it'll be me and Nate getting drunk on not enough cold beer and watching the football game. It's too depressing." Bailey shared.

Amelia knew that over the years Meredith had dug her head deeper into work. She had married Nathan Riggs long before, and he had been a father figure to her three kids, but Nathan wasn't as involved in their lives as a parent and to be honest, neither was Meredith. She had always been emotionally distant and it wasn't often that Zola, Bailey and Ellis had spent time in Amelia's or Maggie's houses while growing up.

"Where is Ellie?" The neurosurgeon asked, excited with the idea of seeing her niece again. "Didn't she come?"

"No, she stayed at Dartmouth with her boyfriend," Bailey didn't add that the guy was often abusive and he had stopped talking to his sister after she'd chosen to stay with the guy even when Bailey had showed her multiple times that she didn't have to put up with the situation. "She might take a train to grandma's or aunt Kathleen's, I don't know."

"Well, that's too bad, I would have liked to see her," Amelia confessed honestly. "What about Zozo? I just spoke to her on the phone the other day."

"She's doing great," Bailey smiled genuinely. "I might go visit her in France in the summer, I don't know." He followed Amelia to the kitchen and at the sight of Owen, Bailey's eye shone even brighter. His uncle greeted him with a hug and soon enough, Amelia's five kids came downstairs after they'd heard their cousin had arrived.

"You see," Bailey sat down next to Amelia on the table when they were about to have dinner. "This is why I wanted to come here," He pointed to the table with his eyes and Amelia followed his gaze.

Her children and husband were laughing and bickering at each other, and it was clear how much love and warmth was present in the house. Once again, Amelia felt proud of her family and everything she and Owen had built together.

"You're always very welcome here," Amelia told him, giving his hand a squeeze before they held their knife and fork. "Just please tell your mom you're here? Don't go back without seeing her. She misses you, Bailey. I know she does."

Amelia's nephew nodded sympathetically, silently promising his aunt that he would.

"Bailey, will you be in New Hampshire around mid January?" Thomas asked from across the table, visibly excited. "We're touring the Ivy League and Dartmouth is our last stop, I think."

"I'll be there, yes," Bailey smiled at his cousin. "It'll be my pleasure to show you guys around."

"You guys?" Owen asked, intrigued. "Who's going, Tom?"

"It's the school field trip excursion, dad." Thomas reminded him. "I told you about this. You wrote me a check to pay for the plane tickets last week."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Owen remembered. "Is the senior class going too? Luke, will you go?"

"I had no freaking clue the nerd club was taking a field trip," Lucas laughed, playing with his fork on the mashed potatoes.

"Not everyone is going though, there was a list," Thomas informed. Only the top rated juniors and seniors had been selected by the school as a motivational bonus. "I think Emily was in it."

The information caught Lucas' attention and he was suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Is she going?" He asked, trying not to sound like he cared.

"I don't think so," Thomas informed him. "I was one of the last ones to hand in my parents consent and she hadn't signed the confirmation sheet yet."

Lucas shrugged, keeping quiet again while the twins took their turn talking to Bailey. He sliced the turkey on his plate, distractedly thinking about what his brother had said and it suddenly clicked: Emily was one of the brightest students in their year and she was definitely the most ambitious one. It didn't make sense to why she would pass on an opportunity like that. Every student who aimed the Ivy League dreamed of meeting the Universities and having the experience of being there for one day. Lucas could tell how excited Thomas was just by the tone of his voice. So he seriously doubted Emily wasn't going because she didn't want to.

After dinner was over and Bailey had finally decided to go to his mother's house, Amelia was quietly getting ready for bed in her room when she heard three low knocks on her open door.

"Hey, baby," She saw Lucas walking in and throwing himself on her bed while Amelia unhooked her earrings. "What happened?" She asked, wondering why she was getting that late night visit.

"Mom, can I have five hundred dollars?"

Amelia immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at him with a heavy frown on her head. Lucas didn't look jumpy or scared, so she knew he wasn't up to something bad. But still, that was too much money for a seventeen year old to be asking for.

"Well, may I ask why you need five hundred dollars?" Amelia looked at him with confused amusement.

"It's not for me," Lucas replied honestly, going through the book that was on his mother's nightstand. "How does this make sense to you?" He asked with disgust, closing the book at once when he saw the picture of an open brain surgery. "Ugh, I'm gonna have nightmares about this tonight."

Amelia laughed, seeing how the images had bothered him.

"Well, if not for you, then what do you need the money for?" She looked him in the eye. "It's way more than your monthly allowance."

"It's to pay for Emily's Ivy League trip," Lucas confessed, avoiding his mother's look. "But she can't know it was you who paid."

"What?" Amelia asked in confusion.

Lucas let out a sigh, knowing he would have to explain.

"Tom said she didn't sign in on the list," The teenager said. "And then when I asked, he said dad had given him a check of five hundred dollars to deposit on the school's bank account to help pay for tickets and accommodation while they're there. I think that's the reason why Emily is not going. She can't afford it."

Amelia took a seat on the edge of her bed, after throwing her earrings lazily on the nightstand. She wasn't sure what was more intriguing; the fact that Emily couldn't afford the trip or Lucas' concern towards the situation.

"Ok, let's do this by parts… Why are you assuming Emily can't afford the trip?" Amelia asked him. "Did she tell you that?"

"No, mom, she is broke," Lucas confessed. He hadn't told his parents what he'd found out about Emily because he knew they would be worried if he got too involved with her family, which was not the case. "She has a scholarship at our school."

"Oh," Amelia was really surprised. "I did not know that." The discovery made Amelia admire the girl even more. It was obvious she was a hard worker.

"Yeah," Lucas confirmed the information. "But I know she wouldn't turn her back on this opportunity if she could and frankly mom, she shouldn't have to," Lucas slowly sat on the bed. "I think she really deserves it. We can deposit the money and the school can tell her it came from a scholarship fund or something…"

Amelia smiled at him, trying to see through his eyes.

"Luke, do you like this girl?"

Lucas frowned heavily, and for the first time since Amelia could remember, he was out of words.

"That's very funny," He scoffed, a moment too late. "Of course I like her, mom, she helped me so much. I got the first B in my life because of her," Lucas reminded his mom. "The least I could do is to try to help her back."

"I see," Amelia smiled, clearly not buying his motive.

"Mom," Lucas complained, seeing his mother was convinced of something else. "She doesn't have money and by the looks of it you just spent twice that much on groceries yesterday. It's not fair. Can we please do this for her?"

Amelia smiled with her eyes, seeing how invested he was. She had never seen Lucas being passionate about anything other than soccer. This new side of him pleased her very much.

"Of course we can," Amelia said, to his immense relief.

"Thanks, mom," The boy winked at her, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You should win the Harper Whatever Award for best mom too," He added with flattery.

"You know what," Amelia laughed, accepting her reality. "You're just like your dad. Sometimes I can't tell if you're paying me a compliment or making fun of me."

"How about both?" Lucas smiled with mischief.

"Yeah, that will do," Amelia replied, having more fun than she would care to admit.

.

For the second time in less than three weeks, Thomas found himself in the east coast. He'd come not long before to spend Christmas with his mother's family in New York and now, only three weeks later, he was in Boston with his school group, touring the most prestigious universities in the world. It was great to be away from all the distraction in Seattle and the boy was feeling invigorated.

Thomas thought about how he'd been feeling much better in the past weeks. He knew that, for a while, he had withdrawn from everyone and everything but that time alone had been necessary for him to put his feelings and thoughts in place. It was a new year and he finally felt ready and confident enough to make a clean start and focus more on his life and what he wanted, rather than what he thought people expected of him.

Even though Thomas had never been in Harvard before, the halls and buildings spoke a known language to him and he couldn't explain why. Maybe he'd been there in past lives, he thought. It felt like the walls vibrated in an exclusive frequency, one he was sure to have been in before. The feeling was at the same time agonizing rewarding and painfully familiar.

Only five students of each year had been selected and Thomas saw Emily Spencer and Kate Karev walking a few meters ahead of him, together with a group of other girls from both junior and senior classes. He fastened his pace, knowing he was taking more time than everyone else paying attention to the details in the surroundings, solemnly ignoring the tour guide who explained details to them.

"So?" He was startled when he heard Kate's voice and turned around to meet her eyes, seeing she'd separated frm the group to wait back for him. "Does the place live up to your expectations?"

Thomas smiled shyly and put his hands in his overcoat pockets, shivering with the ice cold air that was breezing through the long corridors.

"I suppose," He looked into Kate's eyes, well aware that going there was also her long living dream. "And yours?"

"I've been trying to cut back on the expectations lately," The girl honestly confessed, slowly walking by his side.

Thomas nodded, taking in the information and slowly analyzing it.

"I meant to talk to you sooner," He felt like he was justifying himself, as if he owed Kate an apology. The boy knew he'd been distant but that time away from everything had been necessary to put everything under a new perspective.

"It doesn't matter," Kate looked down at her boots as they kept walking. "I know you've been through a lot."

"I wanted to call you," Thomas stopped walking suddenly and turned to his side, forcing Kate to do the same. She threw a worried glance at the school group that was getting more distant from them as they continued the tour while the two of them stood still at the same place. "But I felt like you didn't deserve it."

"I didn't deserve it?" Kate completely forgot about their colleagues as she turned around to look at Thomas. His crystal blue eyes seemed even bluer with the white scenario around them. His long strands of silver blonde hair were a perfect match to his chiseled face.

Everyone in school liked to talk about how attractive the Hunt brothers were, as if they were alike. But Kate knew better. Lucas was tall, strong built and had the most charming smile everyone had ever seen. His self confidence, easy ways and flirting manners were obviously memorable traits. Lucas was attractive, drawing and his presence could be spotted from even the most distant corner of whatever room he was in, being nearly always the center of attention.

But Thomas was much more handsome, Kate thought. His face looked like it had been sculpted by a Renaissance artist. Every feature looked perfectly symmetric. His skin was flawlessly smooth and his eyes seemed to have the most perfect shade of blue. Thomas was much more of an introvert than anything else, and unlike his brother, he was usually listening instead of talking. And while Lucas was charmingly attractive, Thomas was mysteriously challenging.

While Kate looked at him, realizing all of that, she could also notice he'd been struggling to answer the question she'd just asked.

"I didn't want you to feel like I only looked for you because…" Thomas was usually very good with words but at that moment, they seemed to fail them. "Because I ended my relationship." He finally gathered the courage to say it.

Kate looked at him, torn between embarrassment and offense. She didn't want to admit that that was exactly how she would have felt in case Thomas had indeed gone after her.

"Actually," Thomas tried to explain himself better, "I kind of already was looking for you," He confessed. "The same day I found out about Matt and Missy, I'd gone to the library to look for you." Kate looked at him, and the boy couldn't tell if she was interested, confused or both. "I was having one of the worst weeks of my life and you were the only person I could imagine myself talking to."

A shy smile was born on the corner of Kate's lips, but she resisted it, looking at Thomas with a hard expression on her face. By that time, the school group had already disappeared from their sight, but none of them seemed to notice it.

"Then why didn't you?" Kate asked. She had been worried about him, to the point of going to see him at the hospital. But she had quickly left, because even though she cared deeply about him, she wasn't Thomas' girlfriend. In fact, she wasn't even sure she was his friend anymore. And the thought of sitting by his side on a hospital chair, holding his hand knowing that someone else probably meant more to him had been too much for her to handle that day.

"I couldn't," Thomas confessed, watching Kate's red cheeks. He wondered if they looked like that due to the wind or if she was flushed out of embarrassment. "I was feeling guilty because, at the time, I was dating Missy. She should have been the one I wanted to go to."

"I see," Kate replied coldly, feeling her throat getting constricted. The girl was resuming her walk again when Thomas' voice stopped her.

"I've always wondered what was wrong with her, you know."

Kate turned around, watching him from a few steps away. She could feel Thomas so close, and yet so distant. Kate didn't know how to fix that. In fact, she didn't know if it _could_ be fixed.

"She's, uh…" Thomas took two steps in her direction, standing close to her again. "She was perfect, you know?" His eyes sparkled as they discreetly teared up, making Kate wonder if he was angry, disappointed or upset. "She was supposedly the best bet. The safest bet," Thomas rolled his eyes, unable to look into Kate's as he confessed all of that. "When I first started going out with her, I knew I was safe," He felt embarrassed to share that. "Maybe because I was sure that the day our relationship ended, I wouldn't be left heartbroken." Thomas confessed. "I was wrong, of course. I was heartbroken anyway. But not because of Missy."

Kate knew he meant that Matt's betrayal had been the most traumatizing event of that entire experience.

"Missy was like applying to Brown," Thomas gave her a half smile. "You know you're going to get admitted but you don't really want to go there," He let out a sad chuckle. "She was the obvious choice. The safe choice," Thomas finally gathered the courage to look into Kate's eyes again. "And the wrong one."

"I feel sorry for you that you only realized it when it was too late," Kate said. She was feeling bitter on the inside and she hated it. Thomas had no right to cause that. She hated to feel like she was second choice because Kate knew she was better than that.

Her mother had taught her well, and she would never, ever, make herself smaller to make anyone feel big. Especially a guy. And yet, hearing Thomas saying all those things made her feel like she was a stupid girl, romanticizing about whatever it was that she'd shared with Thomas all her life. Kate had told herself many times that she had no right to feel like Thomas owed anything to her, because he didn't. They didn't have a contract or had ever made any kind of pact. They were sixteen years old and had their entire lives ahead of them.

And Thomas was free to do whatever he wanted. Just because they had grown up best friends, planning to be together for the rest of their lives, it didn't mean that it would forever remain the best option for either of them.

"I am sorry too," Thomas let out a sigh, seeing how defensive Kate was being. He couldn't blame her. The day he'd gone to her house and saw what she had on her wall had made him rethink a great deal of things. Kate had always been his best friend and favorite company. Being with her had felt sweet and secure when they had been kids. But then, as they got older, being best friends with Kate had become increasingly more demanding and exhausting.

Over the years, it had become harder for Thomas to ignore that suddenly, he'd unconsciously started to pay attention to how good Kate's hair smelled. Or how he couldn't ignore the fact that her body had curves now. Thomas felt guilty to notice that. When they'd been ten, the shape of her neck wasn't something he cared about. When they'd been smaller and she had hugged him, it didn't feel like his entire body ignited.

But then, when all of those things slowly started to happen, Thomas had unknowingly withdrawn from her.

And before he could have noticed it, Missy had become his girlfriend.

"Do you know what I was thinking?" Thomas asked the rhetorical question. "When I realized I wasn't going to see Missy anymore, not willingly anyway, it didn't make me sad or anything. It feels pretty indifferent, honestly." He confessed, with his typical logic. "Truth is, I don't miss her. But these past months without talking to you have been a torture." At the sound of his words, Kate looked up and met his eyes, seeing how they were bravely trying to read into her soul.

"Why are you telling me all these things, Thomas?" Kate took three steps back and pretended to be interested in a board behind them, where a list of ex Harvard students was displayed. "I am happy you're feeling better now but you don't owe me anything. You don't have to try to make me feel better about your own breakup."

"I am not trying to explain to you my breakup," He said, visibly frustrated. "Kate, I am trying to explain to you why I started dating Missy in the first place."

Kate took a deep breath, wondering if she should turn around to face him. She was afraid of what might happen if she did.

"She didn't drive me crazy," Thomas confessed, knowing he was on the verge of an outburst. His voice was a little louder than normal, but his mind was focused on something else. "She didn't know what kind of cupcake I like for my birthday," He let out a silent laugh, nodding his head in denial. "Every time out lit teacher quoted something, I expected her to finish the sentence… But she never did." Thomas let out a heavy sigh, frustrated at how stupid he had been. "And before I could notice it, I started resenting her for it." His confession made Kate turn around, and the girl looked at him, visibly intrigued. "I expected her to finish my lines for me, to make me anxiously wait for break time so I could see her and laugh with her… But she couldn't give me any of those things. Because she is not you."

Kate frowned, visibly distressed by the words she had repeatedly told herself she shouldn't expect to hear from him. That was unfair. Kate _shouldn't_ like to hear those words from Thomas. She was too good to settle for being someone's choice. She chose people, people didn't choose her. And the fact that Thomas was ruining all of that made her hate him and herself even more.

"Go screw yourself, Thomas," She blurted out, loathing that she couldn't avoid the tears pooling in her eyes. "You're an insensitive bastard!"

Thomas' world collapsed at the unexpected words, but he wouldn't let her get away like that. Not until after he'd finished saying everything he needed to say. The box had been opened now, and the boy wouldn't settle for speculating or wondering anymore. This time, it was all in.

"Wait!" He stormed after her, trying to catch up with Kate's large strides. "What did I do wrong?" Thomas was utterly confused. He'd thought Kate would have liked to hear him confessing his true feelings.

"What did you _do_ wrong?" She repeated sarcastically, pushing him away when she felt he was too close. "You're so full of yourself, aren't you?" Kate's voice was filled with hurt disguised as despise. "What did you think, Thomas? That you'd come here and say a couple of movie lines for me, I'd be seduced by your prince charming manners, you'd sweep me off my feet and we'd ride together on your white horse?" Her eyes were burning with anger when she took a step closer, her face only inches away from his. Kate hated him for making her feel like she was again a twelve year old girl who had just been told she would marry a fairytale prince someday. "What do you expect me to feel?"

His silence filled the air between them, making it even thicker than it already was. Kate's heart was racing with anger, hurt and other feelings she couldn't quite identify.

"I expected you to know that I never meant to hurt you, or ignore you, or feel everything I've said to you once was a lie." Thomas said, mesmerized by her eyes.

"But it was a lie," Kate's voice carried all the anger she felt. "You always told me we'd always be together and in the first opportunity you had, you turned your back on me."

Kate only believed she said the words because she heard them. The shock was so evident on her face that she stepped back, feeling exposed and vulnerable, like she had just unwillingly put her guard down.

The words hit Thomas hard as well, exactly like they were meant to.

"I never realized that's how you felt," One tear rolled down his cheek and Thomas quickly wiped it, embarrassed and ashamed. "I never meant to hurt you or make you feel like I betrayed you." Recently, the boy had found out what it felt like to be betrayed by someone he cared about. It hurt beyond words. "I am sorry."

Kate looked at him, trying to pull herself together, but she couldn't. She felt completely powerless and the anger she felt for herself wasn't enough to make her hate him anymore.

"Why did you, then?" That was the most important question Kate had. The one she had wanted to ask him ever since Thomas had become distant from her and yet she never admitted she did. Not even to herself. "Why did you cut me off of your life?"

"I was afraid," Thomas confessed, feeling like a weight had been taken off his shoulders by finally being able to confess. "I was overwhelmed by how I couldn't look at you and see you like an innocent friend anymore," He saw a wood bench in the hall they were in and sat on it next to her. "I started seeing you like a girl and that scared the hell out of me." It felt great to finally admit that and say it out loud. "And when I noticed, I had cowardly made myself distant."

Thomas could distinguish how Kate's expression slowly changed as she processed every word he was saying, making sense out of everything that had happened between them on the past year.

"You are my best friend," Thomas wanted to touch her but he wasn't sure she would like it. "No one in the world gets me the way you do," He confessed. "I am sorry if what I was saying made you feel like a runner up. You're not," He assured her. "I don't know the best way to explain this but I feel that if my life were a book, you'd be the leading character of it. And I'm sorry if I left you feeling like you didn't belong in it for some chapters."

Kate remained silent, slowly digesting the meaning of his words. She felt exactly the same way. Thomas had hurt her too much. She'd grown up believing they would be together forever and the day she'd found out he was dating a girl from their class had been the worst of Kate's life. She had felt stupid and childish for bringing her childhood notions with her all the way to high school, so Kate had forced herself to change. In order to survive, she'd hardened and started seeing the world exactly like it was, rough and unforgiving. And she'd practice it until Kate was finally able to tell herself that she didn't need the fairytale in her life.

But now, Thomas was offering it to her on a silver platter and Kate had just found out that despite what she'd forced herself to think, she actually really wanted her girly dreams back.

"I got this for you," Thomas smiled, seeing the decision she'd just made before Kate could identify it herself. The boy reached out for his pocket and grabbed a round candy bar wrapped in shiny green paper.

At the sight of it, Kate broke down between tears and laughter, leading Thomas to do the same.

"This one you're going to keep forever, aren't you?" He asked, anxiously.

Kate looked from the chocolate to his eyes and when she smiled in return, Thomas knew her answer was yes.

Slowly, she unwrapped the little ball, wondering where in the world Thomas had found another one of those. That candy had a special meaning in their lives and Kate could vividly remember reading dozens of quotes inside of them with him many times before.

"What does it say?" Thomas asked, before she could finish reading the paper.

"It's empty," Kate realized, shocked. She couldn't believe it. The realization was ruining the moment and Kate felt a bubble of anguish popping inside her heart. "Why isn't there a quote in here?" She asked, desperately, as if it made everything different.

When Thomas didn't answer, she turned her head sideways, looking for him. Only then she noticed what his eyes were fixated on. The wooden bench they were sitting on had deep carvings on it. The letters were roughly faded by time and exposure to the rough weather. But the saying was as visible as the enchantment in Thomas' eyes.

" _Listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door. Let's go._ " Kate read out loud, her eyes widening in shock when she read the author's name on the end of the quote. "Oh my God, Thomas. E.E. Cummings wrote that!"

Thomas was completely taken aback by their discovery. There, in that bench, was immortalized a quote from Thomas' favorite poet. The same one who had written the quote on the piece of paper he'd given to Kate once, when they'd been twelve years old.

"Did you know he came to Harvard?" Thomas asked, feeling emotional. "He spent twenty one years here," The boy looked around, studying the rough edges of the buildings he had always dreamed of being part of one day. "He devoted a great deal of his life to this place and I have always loved everything he wrote," His eyes went back to Kate, looking deeply into her soul. "Whenever I was feeling lost, I would read his books and find comfort in them." That was not news to Kate. She had always known Thomas loved Cummings' poems and that had been why he'd given her the only piece of paper they'd found with one of his quotes. "Today, we found out that the little green chocolate balls don't come with quotes anymore," He laughed at the magical irony of the situation. "But it turns out we didn't need one to begin with." He laughed, feeling marveled at his realization. "Cummings left one for us, right here." He pointed to the bench.

Kate looked from him to the paper, remembering the words of Thomas' favorite poem that had once filled her wall and her dreams: _I carry your heart with me. I carry it in my heart._

"This truly is fantastic," She felt like tearing up too, watching as Thomas was laughing between his tears. "God, this is so overwhelming…" The girl realized.

"There is a hell of a good universe next door," Kate repeated the words, standing up. She'd finally gotten it. The girl stretched out her hand, offering it to Thomas. Their group was probably looking for them now, but it didn't matter. They didn't feel lost anymore, because Thomas and Kate had just found themselves again. And the message they'd just gotten was pretty clear. " _Let's go_."

Thomas smiled widely, taking the hand she offered so willingly. He intertwined their fingers and walked side by side with Kate, breathing in the cold air as he felt a strong sense of peace taking over every fiber of his being. All was good. His favorite poem had never made more sense than it did now. And the world was finally back on track.

 _Here is the deepest secret nobody knows_

 _(Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)_

 _And this is the wonder that's been keeping the stars apart_

 _I carry your heart with me. I carry it in my heart._

 _\- E.E. Cummings._


	13. Chapter 13

Hey, guys! I am so, so sorry about the long delay! As I've mentioned before, I'm with my family in Florida for my vacation and I haven't had any time to focus on this, but finally I got it done! Thank you so much for the support!

The final Chapter was so big that I had to split it into two parts. The second part is being edited and should be posted shortly. I hope you guys enjoy this!

 **My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 13 (Finale – Part 1)**

Owen had just finished assessing a young woman inside one of the exam rooms when he heard one of the nurses call out his name.

"Dr Hunt, your son is here."

She exited before Owen had the chance to ask what it was about. Standing up, he took off his gloves and excused himself, telling the patient he'd been assessing that she was going to be admitted upstairs right after they gave her pain meds.

"Lucas!" The trauma surgeon's eyes were wide with shock when he saw his oldest son compressing what it looked like a towel against a laceration on his head. "What the hell happened?"

The boy opened his mouth to talk but he was quickly interrupted by two other guys who didn't look older than sixteen or seventeen, both dressed in soccer uniforms.

"He fell and hit his head…"

"He was knocked down, actually."

"Better than knocked up!"

Owen interrupted the laughs coming from all three boys with an incisive look directed at his son:

"What's going on?"

Lucas looked from his friends to his father, fighting hard against the smile of guilt on his lips.

"I was at the showers after practice, dad. I slipped and hit my head."

"You _slipped_?" Owen raised his eyebrows in question, taking the towel to take a closer look at Lucas' wound. It didn't look very deep.

"He _was_ slipped," One of the two boys provoked, making the other teenagers laugh.

"Alright, could you guys go outside?" Owen gave the two boys a look of reprimand, watching them leave and then focused again on his son with a harder expression on his face. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing, dad!" Lucas said defensively. "I was just taking a shower."

"And…?" Owen demanded, absolutely sure by Lucas' silly attitude that there was more to it.

"Well…" Lucas couldn't contain a smug smile. "I got a visitor."

"You have to be kidding me," Owen let out a heavy sigh of frustration, washing his hands and putting on a pair of gloves. "Lucas, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, she did!" He justified.

"She?" Owen rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Alice!" Lucas confessed. "She stormed inside like freaking Carrie White, I thought she was going to kill me!" He exaggerated, watching as his father applied cold saline on his wound to clean it. "Ouch!" Lucas complained, scowling when he felt his dad sticking a needle to apply anesthetic. "I thought you were supposed to fix my pain, not add to it," He added, frustrated.

"Don't be dramatic," Owen discarded the needle, seeing that one or two stitches would do. "So Alice, whoever she is, stormed inside the locker room while you were _showering_ and tried to kill you," Owen summed up so the boy could have an idea of how absurd his version of the facts sounded. "Is that what you're saying happened?"

"Yeah." Lucas looked at him, seemingly offended by his father's insinuation that he could be lying.

"Okay," Owen checked the wound, noticing the area around it was already numbed by the local anesthetic. "And why would Alice feel like she needed to go to your locker room, after your soccer practice, when you would most likely be taking a shower, just to try and kill you?" Owen asked ironically.

"That you're going to have to ask her, dad." Lucas smiled mischievously. "These girls are going to end up killing me."

"Lucas…" Owen sighed, frustrated. He really thought that Lucas had matured a little. Or at least, he had hoped. "Why was Alice mad at you? What did you do?"

"Why are you assuming I did anything? I…"

"Lucas!"

"Okay…" The teenager gave him, seeing his dad skillfully finishing a suture. "I went out with her last week. I might have said I really liked her," Lucas confessed as his father closed his wound. "And yesterday she saw me kissing a girl but I swear I didn't know it was her cousin!" Lucas quickly added, looking into his father's eyes so he'd know he wasn't lying. "I really didn't know!"

"So she followed you to the locker room?"

"She said I was avoiding her," Lucas justified, knowing he couldn't deny he was. "So she stormed inside today saying I couldn't avoid her forever. Well, I sure tried to. My escape didn't work as planned, though." The teenager sighed, not showing any signs of embarrassment. "I slipped."

Owen asked himself why he even bothered trying to keep track anymore.

"Alice… Alice's cousin…" He rolled his eyes. "Lucas, when will it stop? I thought you were dating Emily. I could bet you liked her."

Lucas couldn't help letting out a loud chuckle.

"Emily?" He laughed, even though his heart had constricted. "Emily would never date me." He shared, firmly believing his own words.

Owen noticed the insecurity in his voice and looked up, meeting his son's eyes:

"And why do you think so?"

"She knows better than that," Lucas laughed at himself.

"You think you're unworthy of dating a nice girl and keep doing everything in your power to prove yourself right," Owen sighed, fed up with Lucas' childish manners. "You're turning eighteen in a few months, Luke. It's time to think before acting."

Lucas was about to reply when they heard the door to the exam room opening as Amelia barged in.

"I just heard you were in the ER," She walked over to Lucas, holding his face to take a look at her son. "What happened, are you hurt?"

Briefly, Owen explained the events that had led the teenager here.

"Half of the ER income is coming from our kids lately," Amelia sighed, frustrated. "You and your siblings have to stop scaring me like that," She told Lucas, angry at him.

"I am fine, by the way," The boy smiled at his mom, knowing she would feel guilty for not asking.

Exactly as Lucas had anticipated, Amelia's expression quickly softened and she asked him, decidedly worried:

"Did you feel anything when you hit your head? Nausea, blurry vision…?"

"I felt pain," Lucas replied, jumping down from the exam table right after his dad was done examining him. "I still do, to be honest."

"Then let's take care of that," Amelia decided.

She regretted her decision when one hour later Lucas had an exacerbated reaction to the pain meds, affecting his behavior.

"He is completely stoned," Amelia whispered to Owen in a corner, unable to hold her laughter. They were in the middle of the ER and their son had the silliest look on his face. "Oh, how I know that look…" Amelia added, with a mix of emotions. Owen didn't realize he automatically took his hand to her lower back and rubbed it gently, as if trying to comfort her.

"Dr. Wilson!" Lucas' eyes were shinning and his expression was one of a blissful child. "You're very pretty." He added, unable to stop staring.

"Lucas!" Amelia hurried to the scene, watching as Jo laughed with enthusiasm.

"What's gotten into him?" She asked, "Is he high?"

"Sort of," Amelia smiled apologetically.

"You're the most beautiful woman in the world," Lucas declared to Jo with flattery.

"Thanks," The surgeon said while laughing, stepping away from the room after blowing a kiss in Lucas' direction, laughing as he pretended to catch it and put it in his heart with a closed fist.

Forty minutes later, Amelia and Owen took Lucas home, after he'd pretty much proposed marriage to every female nurse who was on call at the ER that day.

.

Back at home, Thomas enjoyed the first few minutes of his favorite TV show. Kate had come over after school so they could do their homework together, a routine they had established ever since they'd gotten back from their field trip.

It felt great to be closer to her again, and Thomas promised himself he would never let Kate slip out of his life. She was his favorite company and he anxiously waited for those couple of hours alone with her every day.

"Do you guys have plans for Valentine's day?" Danny burst into the living room, crashing on the couch next to Thomas.

Kate looked sideways, at Thomas' direction, visibly blushing. Thomas cleared his throat and stared back at her for a while before focusing on his younger brother:

"What do you mean, plans?"

"I wanted to do something nice for Sarah, but I have no idea what I could get for her," He looked from his brother to Kate, in need of rescue. "You guys have been doing this a long time, give me some help."

Kate noticed how a red color took over Thomas' entire face, from his neck to his forehead. He seemed uncomfortable and embarrassed, and Kate let him suffer for a few seconds longer before answering Danny's question.

"Well, Danny, how about you ask her?" The teenager asked, very wisely. "Ask her what she likes and maybe you can figure something out together."

"Yeah," Danny got up, excited. "You know what, that's a terrific idea, Kate. Thanks!"

Still mesmerized by Kate's simple response, Danny made his way upstairs, leaving the two sixteen year olds alone in the living room again. The girl noticed the awkward silence that had installed between them, but she didn't say anything on purpose, waiting for Thomas to step up.

"Was that a hint for me?" He raised an eyebrow, finally breaking the silence. "Did you… hm… Do you want me to ask you?"

"I don't know," Kate frowned, noticing how adorable he looked when he was insecure. "I mean, why would we celebrate Valentine's Day in the first place?"

"Yeah, only boyfriend and girlfriend do it, right?" Thomas gave her a nervous sideways glance and then focused on the TV again.

"I think so, yeah," Kate wanted to laugh at his nervousness. She watched in delightful silence as he hesitated, opening his mouth and then closing it again several times as he frowned, probably wondering if he should speak or not.

"Well, then what are we?" Thomas finally gathered the courage to look her in the eye.

"I hadn't thought of that," Kate lied, meeting his eyes. "What do you want us to be?"

"You said, _ask her_ and then figure it out together," Thomas kicked the ball to her corner. Kate should have known that he was way too smart. "I am asking _her._ " He added.

"You're asking _her_ the wrong question, obviously." Kate smiled at him, loving to tease her best friend.

When Thomas realized how at ease she was with all of that, he visibly relaxed and a smile grew on the corner of his lips.

"Kate, do you want to make plans with me for Valentine's Day?"

The girl couldn't help noticing how handsome he looked, with his thick head of blonde hair and gorgeous dimples that made him look like an angel when he smiled.

"Yes, Thomas, I do." She smiled at him in return.

.

When Owen and Amelia made it home with Lucas later that afternoon, they weren't surprised to find Kate there. Amelia thought it was great seeing how happier Thomas seemed in the past weeks. The sixteen year old was just asking what was wrong with his brother when they heard the door bell ringing.

"Oh, hey Emily," Amelia stepped aside to let the girl in, smiling to see her there. "Do you have a study date with Luke?"

"Not really," The girl smiled back, shyly walking into the living room. "I just really need to talk to him and he won't pick up his phone. I heard he had a small accident in school."

"Yeah, he was at the hospital for a while, you can go see him upstairs but I think he's still a little groggy from the meds." Amelia then explained to Emily about Lucas' reaction and showed her the way upstairs.

Emily had never been in the upper floor of Lucas' house before but according to his mom, his was the last room to the left of the corridor. The girl found the door half opened and gave it three gentle knocks before going inside. One quick look around and she identified the shelves with piles of trophies and medals and some clothes thrown on a chair near the study desk. Absolutely everything in the room seemed to have the logo of Lucas' favorite football team.

"Hey," She surprised him, seeing as Lucas took one second more than usual to react to her presence. His mother had warned Emily he was a little slow because of the reaction to the meds he'd been given, but the girl couldn't help smiling at the way Lucas seemed to idly stare at her. "Are you okay?"

"Spencer," Lucas blabbered, almost falling off the bed when he tried to sit up. "What's up with you?" He asked, in clear confusion about her presence in his room.

"Your mom let me in," Emily informed him. "She told me about what happened. I heard in school you'd gotten hurt and you wouldn't pick up the phone," Emily commented, trying to explain why she'd gone there.

She also knew _why_ Lucas had gotten hurt, but that part she chose to ignore. Even before she'd become friends with him, Emily knew Lucas was always dating someone different. He clearly took pride in it and even though she was now considering him as her friend, his romantic life was something they had never talked about. Emily reminded herself that part of his life wasn't relevant to her, and she didn't want to stop and analyze how she felt about it, because what she might find out was too scary to deal with.

"Aww, aren't you sweet," He tried to support his weight on his knees as he got up from the bed and failed miserably. "You were worried about me."

"Actually, I wasn't," Emily gave him a wicked smile as his expression went from flattered to offended. "You've survived worst," She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, indeed," Lucas smiled too widely.

Even though Lucas' parents had warned her, Emily still couldn't believe how high he looked.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, defensively.

"Never better," He smiled charmingly at her, clearly flirting.

"Okay," Emily took one step back, unconsciously intimidated.

"Now that you've established you didn't come here because you're worried about me," Lucas gave her a dirty smile and at last managed to get up from his bed. "The only possible reason why you came is because you miss me." He smugly said, but the sparkle in his eyes betrayed him.

"You're higher than a lab rat," Emily couldn't hide her amusement. "And you're too in love with yourself, aren't you? Sit down, you dork, you're going to fall."

Emily helped him get back to his bed and the minute her hand touched his arm, her smile quickly disappeared from her face, giving room to nervousness. When the girl realized the silly look on Lucas' face, she couldn't help cracking up again. He looked like he was in another dimension.

"I should leave you to rest," She realized, promising herself she wouldn't let him get away without teasing him forever about that situation.

"No, Spence, come on, you clearly have something to say!" His smile seemed much more genuine that time and that was what made Emily finally open up.

"I just got a letter in the mail today," She couldn't help holding the information from much longer. "I got into Yale."

"What?" Lucas' smile grew ever wider.

"I got into Yale," Emily repeated, still not believing it herself.

"Whoa, Spencer!" Lucas threw his arms around her, giving her an unexpected hug. "I am so happy for you!"

Emily smiled and shyly involved him with her arms too. She had just found out that day when she got home from school and she hadn't told anyone yet, not even her parents. Lucas had been her biggest supporter during the entire last semester and he was the only one who she thought would be able to understand how much that news meant to her. Emily knew she would have four rough years ahead of her, and then many more as she would be drowning in student loan debt, but she didn't care. That was her ticket out of there and she had never been more excited in her life.

"Not that I doubted you, of course," Lucas gently pulled back. "You're the smartest girl I've ever met," He gave her a heartfelt smile and Emily couldn't tell if the sparkle in his eyes was because he was mentally altered, genuinely happy or both.

"You're a great friend," She smiled back, gently sitting on the edge of his mattress, watching as a look of confusion became evident on his face.

"I am your friend?" Lucas frowned heavily at her.

"Of course you're my friend." She furrowed an eyebrow at him, wondering how he could even doubt that. "To be honest, right now you're kind of my best friend."

Lucas took in the information, taking more time than he originally would to process it. Because his emotions and his response were so compromised by the painkillers he'd gotten, he thought that that was the reason why that confession messed with his head so much.

"I like you too, you know," The boy said, oscillating his mind, unable to control his own trail of thoughts. Emily watched as he bent over a little, looking completely lost. "I wanted to be your friend for so long and now that I am officially your friend," Lucas only realized he'd taken her hand after he'd already done it. "I am sad that's all I am."

"Hunt?" Emily raised both eyebrows, startled by his confused speech. He couldn't be saying what she thought he was saying. It was too absurd to be true.

"You're going to Yale, dude," Lucas smiled, making his face look more boyish than it already was. "I am so freaking proud of you, Emily…" His face got one inch closer as he looked into her eyes, obviously in a confused state. "I wish I was worthy of you, you know…" He confessed, surprising even himself. Lucas had no idea that was how he felt but after hearing the words that were firing from his mouth it made a lot of sense.

"Hunt, what are you doing?" Emily frowned, worried about him. She felt his hand firmly holding hers and didn't dare to let go.

Lucas then remembered his dad's assumption that he was dating Emily. The idea was so absurdly insane that it made him laugh. Emily would never date a guy like him, she was too good and he knew exactly that she deserved the very best.

"I am saying that if you were my girl," Lucas smiled, out of control, "I wouldn't need to hide in the shower, you know," He laughed, and the sound of his laughter sounded silly even to him. "I wouldn't _want_ to hide in the shower," The boy added, amazed at how obvious that confession was and how great it felt to finally say that. It was like whatever they'd given him at the hospital had completely robbed him from the few filters he had between his mind and his mouth, giving voice to all the feelings even he didn't know were there. "I'd show you off to everyone because I know I'd be so damn lucky to have you."

Emily was so taken aback by everything Lucas was saying that she froze, sitting still while he blabbered the words like he was dreaming out loud.

"And I would believe in the possibility of happily ever after," Lucas continued, unable to stop. The expression on his face was a telltale of his altered mental status. "Every goal I'd ever score would be for you and then we'd celebrate later after every game, scoring more goals…" He laughed at his own silly joke, making Emily smile even though she was completely nervous. "And I'd change my address… My hair, my mind… I'd go to Yale every holiday to be with you… I'd bring your home to momma every Christmas…" Lucas' eyes sparkle with a mix or mirth and longing, thinking about how he never introduced a girlfriend to his parents before. "But most of all, I'd wake up every day and wonder how dumb… How completely dumb lucky I was to have you." He added, while the smile on his face slowly faded into a serious expression. "If you were my girl."

Emily was so surprised and out of breath with his confessions that for the first time since she could remember, she didn't have an answer to give. Her mind barely had time to consider all of that when she felt a large hand digging through the back of her head, while large fingers made their way through her mass of auburn hair. She felt Lucas' warm breath on her face and his aching familiar smell a fraction of seconds before he stole every answer from her, kissing her without giving any warning first.

Emily had been kissed two or three times in her life before but never had she felt anything like that. At first, she was so surprised that she sat there completely motionless but the second Lucas' other hand gently cupped her cheek, she felt herself completely mellowing. With one move, Lucas was able to bring her whole guard down and at the same time she hated that about him, Emily also completely loved it.

The touch of his lips was soft and gentle, like he knew exactly what he was doing. When Emily finally stopped resisting and gave up thinking completely, she was assaulted by a wave of indescribable emotions and feelings. Before she could realize it, her own arms were around his neck as her chest was firmly pressed against his.

And suddenly, to Emily, everything she'd heard and seen before in movies and stupid love songs finally began to make sense.

Slowly, Lucas pulled apart and she felt the enchantment fading. When they were finally eye to eye, he gave her the silliest of smiles and said with a cheerful voice:

"I think you've been hiding from me all this time, Spence," He said, drowsily leaning back on the bed again, "because you know that if I found you, I'd never want to let go."

Emily looked at him, completely immersed in her own emotions, desperately trying to think of what to say when she frowned heavily at her realization:

Lucas had fallen asleep.

Unable to believe her own eyes, she bent forward, trying to see for herself if that was really true, but when she checked for his eyes, she found him completely dozed off.

Emily wasn't sure how she should feel about that. Telling herself she shouldn't be disappointed, the girl quickly got up, gathering her bag to leave. Lucas had presented her with a great opportunity not to think about what had just happened and she only wished there was any way she could get any sleep that night without constantly thinking about his drug induced confession and the amazing, magical kiss they'd shared.

.

Amelia said goodbye to Emily, watching as the girl pretty much stormed out of the house after saying that Lucas had fallen back asleep.

"That sure was fast," Owen furrowed an eyebrow at her, looking conspicuously at his wife.

"I've given up trying to understand those two long ago," Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Me too," Megan added with an impatient smile. She really liked Emily but the girl and her brother were being too blind. "This 'will they, won't they' is boring me."

Owen frowned to Amelia, torn between worry and amusement at Megan's words. The girl continued to craft her art project for school on the kitchen table while Amelia moved around, helping Owen with dinner.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you, is there any chance you might be free to scrub in with me next week?" Amelia asked as she licked tomato sauce off her finger. "It's a thoracic spinal astrocytoma and the guy is flying in from London to get the surgery… I could use some fast hands to handle the chest if things go south," She justified. Being a trauma surgeon, Owen was the guy to go to when she needed fast action with smart moves.

"Yeah, sure," Owen kissed the top of her head in response. He knew she could ask Riggs or anyone else, so it flattered him that she came to him instead. Even though they'd been together for many years and had always worked in the same place, it wasn't often that they got to work together on a case. "Do you think we should wake up Luke for dinner?"

"Nah," Amelia nodded her head in denial. "Let him rest. He better sleep it off."

"He's going to wake up wanting to eat the house," Owen foresaw.

"Good," Amelia concluded with a smile. "Maybe this way he won't be late in the morning."

.

Two days later, Emily saw Lucas in school for the first time since their moment in his room. He was coming in her direction, chatting with two guys in the soccer team. Emily turned around immediately, trying to avoid him from seeing her face.

They were supposed to have a tutoring session later that afternoon and the girl was convinced to hide from Lucas until then. She had absolutely no idea what would happen but she was pretty sure he would use his sweet talk on her, probably saying that what had happened had been a mistake and that he'd only said those things because the drugs had made him delusional.

Emily's plans to avoid him were interrupted by a possessive hand that grabbed her shoulder, making her jump out of her feet.

"Sorry," Joey Avery smiled when he noticed he'd startled her. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"If I knew any self defense techniques, I probably would have broken your arm," Emily confessed, letting out a sigh of relief to see it was him.

"Why so alarmed?" Joey raised an eyebrow at her.

Ever since Lucas had introduced Emily to him, they had instantly gotten along. It didn't take her more than two hours talking to Joey to figure out his secret and after realizing Emily was a trusted person, Joey had instantly created a bond with her. Emily's growing friendship with the boy was also something she owed to Lucas.

"Nothing, I was just distracted," The girl lied, feeling her heart starting to calm down. "What's up with you?"

"Just going to practice now," Joey replied, without looking at Emily. The girl then noticed he had his eyes on his team mates who, at this point, were only a few feet away from them.

"Hey, Spencer," Lucas greeted her in his most ordinary manner. Emily noticed nothing about him seemed different. His flirtatious smile was exactly the same, just as the way he looked at her.

"Hey," She replied, nervously putting a lock of hair behind her ear.

"See you at three?" He smiled at her, noticing she seemed startled.

"Huh?" Emily raised one eyebrow in question, but then shrugged off. "I mean, yeah, sure."

Lucas indicated with a head nod that his team mates should resume their way and Joey joined them, leaving Emily alone with him.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, visibly worried.

"Okay?" Emily asked, surprised by his lack of reaction to what had happened. She expected an apology, a witty remark or even a bad taste joke about his words and their kiss. But never in the world would she expect Lucas to just blatantly ignore it.

The boy leaned forward and bent in her direction, inspecting her eyes with caution.

"What?" He read the dissatisfaction on her face. "What did I do this time?" Lucas asked, looking completely oblivious. The lack of response coming from Emily let Lucas know she was probably angry at him. "My mom said you showed up at the house a couple of nights ago," He informed her. "Did I say anything stupid to you?"

"You…" Emily frowned, confused. "You don't remember?" She asked almost expectantly.

"Why?" Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Is there something I should remember?"

"No," Emily said too quickly. "Nothing to remember." She had been so invested in trying to figure out what she would do with everything Lucas had said and done that Emily hadn't realized how much energy it was consuming of her. Now that she could simply pretend nothing had happened – because to Lucas it apparently hadn't – she expected to easily go back to acting normally around him. "So, I'll see you at three?"

"Yeah," Lucas nodded and gave her his signature charming smile. "Can't wait."

.

Thomas hurried to find Kate, catching up with the girl before they could leave the classroom.

"So…" He started, unable to contain a heartfelt smile. "Today is Valentine's Day." He remembered, feeling like he'd been waiting for that day for painful weeks.

"Yes," Kate responded to him with the same smile.

"And today we're going out," Thomas kept walking by her side, feeling like he was floating in the air. "On a date."

"Yes," Kate repeated with a satisfied look on her face.

Thomas stopped walking and held her hand, mesmerized by how absolutely perfect the match between her brown hair and brown eyes were.

"Listen, I was thinking about how I want our first date to be perfect," Thomas said, embarrassed to have been so consumed about that. "And I don't want to spend the entire time we're out overthinking things. It's too much pressure," He added, hoping Kate would pick up the hint. They weren't officially together until just now and even though he desperately wanted to kiss her, he didn't want it to feel awkward, considering they had been friends for so long.

"We're going to watch a movie, Thomas," She reminded him. "We've done it a thousand times."

"Yes, but in all those times you would have slapped me if I tried to kiss you," He frowned. "Now you will _expect_ me to kiss you." He rationalized, in his typical manner. "Well, you will, won't you?" Thomas asked with embarrassment.

Kate smiled, thinking how absolutely adorable he looked when he was nervous.

"Is that what you're worried about?" She reached for his other hand and held it firmly with hers.

"Of course," Thomas looked at her, almost offended. "This is not just a blind date where we'll both…"

Thomas' sentence was suddenly interrupted when he felt two familiar hands wrapping around his neck as the sweetest lips touched his. Even though he was surprised, he immediately responded with a tight embrace, holding Kate's waist between his arms. Thomas could feel it when the girl took one step in his direction, getting even closer to his body.

When she finally broke apart, Thomas was left wordless, completely mesmerized by the intensity and at the same time, the sweetness of her gesture. Kate smiled when she noticed how taken aback he was and she couldn't help feeling proud at the same time she felt a bit shy for taking action.

"So?" She smiled, unsure of how he'd respond. "That was it. First Kiss. We've taken the pressure off. Now what?"

"Now," Thomas smiled eagerly at her, a new sparkle shinning in his blue eyes. "I'll be nervous about our second kiss," He smiled, shamelessly flirting with her. "What will you do about that?"

When Kate smiled in return, Thomas looked from her eyes to her lips, already looking forward to what was about to happen.

.

"Mom, we have to interview different professions for my English homework," Robbie informed Amelia when she walked into the kitchen, one night before dinner. "It won't take more than ten minutes. Can you help me?"

"Why don't you ask your father, honey, I am really tired," Amelia grumpily replied.

Robbie frowned in response, looking at Danny for answers. His twin brother gave the same look in return, silently confirming he also had no idea why their mother was acting like that. She was usually very excited about helping them but ever since she'd gotten home that day, Amelia had barely paid attention to anyone.

"Ok," Robbie replied, feeling like he was in a dangerous territory. He was sitting with Danny at the kitchen table, where he and his siblings usually did their homework while their parents prepared dinner. "Dad, can you help me then?"

Owen looked up from the fish he was cooking to his thirteen year old son.

"If you need someone to interview, you should interview your mom," He added, with bitter sarcasm. "She is obviously a much better person, better professional and she always has all the answers to all the questions."

They heard the loud noise of a large knife blade hitting the sink as Amelia lifted her eyes from the carrot she was slicing to her husband, giving him a furious look.

Danny looked from his mother to his father and then to Robbie, silently whispering:

"I don't think that was an accident."

"What are you two whispering?" Amelia's voice sounded very firm when she asked, startling the twins.

"Nothing, mom, we're just doing our homework," Danny said with innocence, not sure if he should find the situation funny or scary. Even though he wanted to laugh, the boy knew it was better to stay under the radar, especially if their mom was so worked up. It was obvious their parents were having a big disagreement, judging by the sideways glares they wouldn't stop giving each other.

"You should ask me, indeed," Amelia said to Robbie after a while, trying to sound neutral but the way her upper lip was stiffened betrayed her. "I do have the better answers."

It didn't go unnoticed to Amelia how Owen smugly scoffed, as if doubting her. That realization only made her want to punch him in the face.

Earlier that day, as planned, Owen had scrubbed in on an elective surgery with her. Amelia had planned the thoracic spine astrocytoma removal very thoroughly, preparing herself for every detail. And exactly as the neurosurgeon had feared, the tumor had proven to be much difficult to dissect than originally imagined. She had been at it for nearly eight hours when the patient had developed a hypertensive pneumothorax. Without thinking twice, Owen had stepped up to action and drained it, even though Amelia had the patient's back opened on the table.

The complication had been fixed and she had been able to proceed with the surgery, but because Owen had moved the man's body to drain the excessive air in his chest that was stopping his lungs from filling with air, a big part of Amelia's delicate dissection work had been ruined, making her unable to remove everything she wanted completely, otherwise she would increase the risk of leaving the guy with paralysis.

"Ok, so I interviewed our mailman, the lady who works as a secretary for our school and grandma," Robbie informed.

"Grandma?" Owen interrupted him, confused. "Grandma is retired, Rob."

"That's her profession," Robbie pointed out.

"That's _not_ a profession," Owen corrected him. "She was a war nurse. _That_ is a profession."

"Don't listen to your father, honey, he thinks that details don't matter," Amelia attacked.

Owen dropped the dishes he was using in the sink, breathing out through his nose.

"They don't when it's a life and death situation."

Amelia gave him a deadly glare and decided not to say anything else. Robbie looked to his brother in search for help, wondering if he should keep his grandma on his homework or not.

"Alright, mom," Robbie gave up trying to figure out what he should do. "Let's start with the basic questions… Profession, doctor…" The boy scribbled as he wrote down on his pad. "Wait, maybe I should write surgeon instead," He erased the previous answer and fixed it. "Ok, so what would you say is the best part about your profession?"

"Hmm," Amelia smiled for the first time that evening. "It's definitely being able to help people. It's not always that we can, but when we do it, it's a feeling like no other."

"And what would you say is the worst part about the job?"

"The bad days in this job are really, _really_ bad," Amelia said emphatically.

"The hours aren't so great either," Owen added distractedly while he checked the fish he was cooking.

"Yeah," Amelia agreed unwillingly.

"Ok," Robbie wrote down his parents' answers and Amelia felt happy to be able to help. "How hard is it to become a surgeon?" The boy asked the standard questions.

"It depends on what you consider hard," Amelia answered, proudly. "When you love what you do, even the hard work feels great."

"It is _very_ hard," Owen barged in, much more serious and down to earth than Amelia. "You have to study a lot to get into med school and after all that work is done you have to go through years and years of sleep deprivation and working hundred hour weeks. It's hard."

Amelia looked at him with a big scowl.

"Do you have to be so unpleasant?" She asked disdainfully.

"I am just being realistic," Owen justified. "It wasn't easy for us and it won't be easy for these guys when they get to the Academy," Owen flashed a proud smile at his sons.

"Yeah, dad, I am sure West Point will be a piece of cake compared to Harvard Med," Danny said eagerly, imagining how complicated med school probably was. He'd much rather be in the army.

"Well, good thing you'll have Tom there, so you can ask him," Owen winked at his son.

"Good thing you won't have to find out how good or bad it is at West Point because you can try a thousand other things," Amelia gave the twins her sweetest smile. It was no secret she absolutely dreaded the idea of her sons getting into the military life, for she couldn't begin to consider the idea of her two boys joining the army and maybe going to a war. But ever since they were young boys, the twins had always been fascinated about the military and the fact that their father was a veteran had only led them to love it even more.

Owen, on the contrary, loved the idea of sending his sons to a military college. He knew that unlike the Ivy League schools, to get into West Point and survive four years there a student had to be in shape not only intellectually, but also physically and mentally. He believed Robbie and Danny could make the most out of that experience.

"But if they do choose to go there," Owen insisted, letting their sons know the choice was a valid one, "I am sure they won't regret it."

"This is not up for discussion!" Amelia involuntarily raised her voice, realizing only seconds later that she had lost control. The twins were looking at her expectantly, seemingly nervous. She wasn't trying to sound mad at them.

"They're thirteen years old," Owen said in a low but firm voice, letting Amelia know the subject ended right there. "They don't have to decide this right now."

Robbie and Danny gave their father a nod of gratitude. They both knew they absolutely wanted to get into West Point, but their mother wasn't too thrilled about it, so it made no sense adding to her frustration.

Amelia didn't say a word during the entire dinner, leaving to Owen the task of asking their kids about their days. Megan filled in just as perfectly for her mother, talking incessantly during the entire meal.

It was past eleven when Amelia knocked on the door to her sons' room, going inside before waiting for a response.

"Hey," She smiled sheepishly at Robbie and Danny, noticing one of them was watching a game on the TV while the other was watching a video on his cell phone. Both stopped what they were doing and focused on their mother. "I feel really bad for yelling earlier today," She confessed, going straight to the point. "I am sorry."

As she said the words, Amelia leaned in and sat on Danny's bed, holding him in her arms while she looked from him to Robbie, on the opposite end of the room.

"I might have overreacted," She admitted. "And it's not fair that I keep you guys from going after something you want because I'm scared for you," Amelia let out a heavy sigh, feeling herself calming down at once. Giving voice to her concerns was always a great way to unwind and recover some of her strength and balance. "If going to a military school is really what the two of you want, of course I'll be proud and I will support you all the way," She unconsciously held Danny even tighter as she said the words, afraid of the possibility of seeing them in an Army Uniform.

"Joining the Army is a great honor, mom," Robbie tried to convince her, absolutely sure she would try to talk them out of it.

"You're absolutely right," Amelia agreed, surprising both boys. She took a deep breath and spoke from her heart. "Even though the possibility of one or two of you going off to God knows where scares me to the bone," Amelia let down know with honesty. "I'd be damn proud of you both." She smiled heartily at them. "Whatever you guys end up choosing to do," She smiled with satisfaction, "I'll be proud of you for it."

"Thanks, mom," Danny returned her embrace, happy to hear those words. They weren't even in high school yet and it was too soon to be thinking about those decisions but it was great to know they could count on their mother's support no matter what they chose to do.

"I love you guys," She kissed the top of Danny's head and then went over to Robbie's bed, repeating the gesture.

"Love you too, mom," They said in unisom.

Amelia smiled at their synchrony and left the room, feeling a whole lot lighter than when she'd first walked in.

.

Owen was lying down on his bed reading a book when he noticed Amelia walking into their bedroom, visibly avoiding looking at his direction. He resumed his reading, too angry at her to start a conversation while she went inside the closet to change clothes.

"So," Owen looked up at his wife when he heard her hesitant voice. "I need to know how serious this fight is," Amelia added with a half-hearted smile, clearly uncomfortable.

Owen looked at her with a confused look on his face. At the same time he was surprised that she had spoken first, he also didn't understand her question.

"We had a work fight and we brought it home," Amelia clarified. "I need to know how serious this is so I know if I should keep ignoring you or if it's okay for me to talk about my day or anything else you might want to talk about." She added while she made her way to the bathroom in search of her toothbrush.

Owen couldn't help a discreet smile on the corner of his lips as he directed his eyes to his book. When he was sure he was already able to predict Amelia's every move, she surprised him once again.

"I'm not mad at you about work," Owen explained. "Actually, I am, but that's not why I don't want to talk to you, though. I am much more upset about your position against Robbie and Danny's wish to join a military academy." Owen sighed and closed the book abruptly, giving up on it completely. He raised his eyes and met hers, watching as Amelia finished brushing her teeth. "Not because it's military," Owen added, letting her know he wasn't being biased. "It's because I thought we agreed we'd always support them without trying to change their dreams."

Amelia knew he meant their children and his concern for their well being brought a smile to her face. She went to the bathroom and finished rinsing her mouth, coming back in a few seconds.

"You're right," She admitted, surprising him once again. "I realized I wasn't being as supportive as I should have been and I already apologized to them," Amelia confessed. "It would be too selfish of me to demand that they give up on their career plans because I'm afraid of something hypothetical. But I am a mother, Owen. Don't judge me for acting like one."

"Okay," He smiled with a mix of pride and satisfaction.

"And to be honest, I don't want to think about that right now… They're thirteen. They don't have to decide right away what they'll do for the rest of their lives."

"Yes," Owen agreed and put the book on the nightstand, assuming Amelia would want go to sleep. He watched as she went again into the closet, shivering. Seconds later Amelia came out with a sweatshirt, complaining about how low he always set the thermostat.

"Can we not fight about the temperature too?" Owen asked, being honest. "We don't need another silly fight."

Amelia let out a heavy sigh as she got under the covers. He turned off the light on his side of the bed and seconds later she did the same, engulfing the room in the darkness. Minutes later, Owen was pretty sure she had already fallen asleep when she heard her talking:

"You're my go-to guy."

"Huh?" Owen frowned, oscillating between conscience and sleep.

"I go to you when I'm in a crisis," Amelia rolled to her side, intending to face him. She found her husband lying on his back. Owen turned his head to meet her gaze at the sound of her voice. "That's what I did. I asked for your help and you gave it to me. I was pissed the outcome of my patient wasn't what I expected and I think I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

Owen's expression softened as he slowly processed the information she'd just give him.

"I guess I could have taken it a little slower," He said, reliving the events of their surgery in his mind. He knew how invested Amelia was in every case and he didn't want to let her down, even though he really had acted according to what he thought was best for the patient. "I don't carefully think about every step when at work, Amelia. I do what has to be done, regardless of beauty or finesse. I know you're not used to that in your OR but it's just the way it is."

"You patch up and move it along," She teased with a smile. "I know… It's probably why I asked you to be in there. Maybe if you weren't I'd spent too many precious seconds carefully considering everything and maybe I'd miss the moment."

"Probably not," Owen spoke truthfully. She was a great surgeon and he knew she could do very well on her own.

"Still, it's great to have you there," Amelia confessed. Her husband was the best trauma surgeon in the hospital and when it came to acting fast and being at the front of the line, nobody could top him. "Thank you," Amelia leaned over and gave him a kiss on the corner of his lips, feeling Owen open his arm to accommodate her in his embrace.

"You're my go-to girl," He teased with a charming smile, kissing the tip of her nose. "Even when you're stubborn and when you annoy me."

"Good to know," She smiled, wrapping one leg around his as she rested against his body on the bed. "Why do you have to set the thermostat to sixty, Owen, damn it, I feel like I'm in a freezer."

Owen laughed and rolled over to her side, keeping her tight inside his embrace.

"Because it's more comfortable this way," He explained, smiling against her lips as he kissed her.

"For you, maybe," Amelia shivered, turning around in his arms. Owen's chest engulfed her back as he wrapped one arm tightly against her waist, bringing her closer.

"Good night, babe," He kissed the back of her neck, playfully ending their argument so Amelia wouldn't drag it any longer.

Amelia held his hand between hers, in search of warmth, also getting comfort as a bonus. Soon after, Owen's hand slipped to the inside of her shirt and when the palm of his hand made contact with the skin of her stomach, she completely closed her eyes, finally ready to fall asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

At least, here we are!

I cannot believe how much love I got from this story, you guys are amazing. To everyone who's laughed, cried, felt and hoped during these fourteen chapters, my most sincere thank you.

I hope you guys enjoy this wrap up! Have a good read!

 **.**

 **My Boys Bright Future – Chapter 14**

Amelia was already asleep when she was suddenly woken up by the sound of the doorbell. Waking up completely, she searched for Owen's eyes in the darkness at the same time he reached for the lamp. The clock on their nightstand showed it was almost midnight.

"What is happening?" She asked with concern as she pulled the covers to get out of bed.

Owen followed her to the corridor and when they got there, they noticed Thomas and Lucas with their heads popping out of their doors, obviously startled by the same sound. When Amelia got to the living room with Owen right behind her, she was surprised to find Emily Spencer standing outside on their front porch, obviously distressed.

One quick look at the teenage girl and Amelia could easily identify something was terribly wrong. Emily's eyes were swollen and reddish, just as her nose. She was shivering and Amelia noticed she was wearing only a sweatshirt, despite the insanely cold weather outside.

"Emily!" Owen was obviously as surprised as his wife. "Come in, you're going to freeze out there!"

Amelia turned around to go get Lucas but he was already in the living room when she was about to call his name. She watched as her eldest son wrapped his arms around Emily and the girl buried her face on his chest. Lucas looked from Emily to his parents, obviously surprised and unaware of what was happening, but he tightened his grip around the girl feeling her begin to sob under his touch.

"We'll be upstairs," Amelia said, locking the front door. She looked from Emily to Lucas and demanded. "Let us know if she needs to spend the night."

Lucas nodded assertively and waited until both his parents were on the upper floor of the house to slowly let go of Emily, allowing the girl to look deeply into his eyes.

"Hey, hey…" He gave her a smile of support. "It's okay. What happened to you? What's wrong?"

"I am so sorry," Emily closed her eyes and shook her head in denial, not quite believing she'd gone there. "I shouldn't have come here…"

"Of course you should," Lucas sat down on the couch and gently pulled her to do the same. "What happened?"

Emily had obviously been outside alone in the cold because her hands were freezing. Lucas unzipped the hoodie he was wearing and took it off, throwing it around her shoulders and smiling at how it completely engulfed her delicate frame.

"I…" Emily struggled, holding onto Lucas' sweatshirt for warmth, "I got into a huge fight with my parents."

"Why?" Lucas tried to sound neutral, allowing her to talk. He knew she was a very private person and it was rare to hear Emily share anything about herself.

"I told them about Yale," Emily confessed. "I told them I got in and they… My dad freaked out," She confessed, fighting hard to keep her emotional stability. Emily had had to fight not to lose focus or balance for far too long and she was exhausted. Finally, she had reached the crossing line and the people who should have supported her the most had completely turned their back on her achievement. "He flipped and said he's not paying a dime for me to go across the country _whore around and read fancy books_ ," The girl quoted, repeating her father's words with disgust. "I told him he won't have to pay for anything. I'll get a job and get a student's loan, I have a partial scholarship, but he didn't listen," Emily finally met Lucas' face and felt like it became even harder not to break down. "He thinks I should get a job as a waitress around here to help with the bills at home and find a _decent boy to marry_."

Emily knew that had been the outcome of pretty much everyone in her family and no one in her household could understand why she would want anything different. None of her relatives had gone to college and her parents thought she was trying to be something she was not whilst her sister was too busy with her own life to have an opinion about anything or to offer any word of support.

"It's like their expectations for me are so low, but so low, that they think I'll settle for being them," She tried to sum up, realizing how hard it must've been for Lucas to understand her, considering his upbringing was entirely different and she hadn't shared much of her own life with him.

"Don't worry about that right now, ok? Everything is going to work out just fine," Lucas smiled charmingly at her, making Emily believe for the first time that day that, for some reason, everything was going to be okay. "Besides… there are worst things in life, I bet," He approached her and teased, trying to make the girl feel better, "Like no one having expectations for you."

Emily knew he was talking about himself and she laughed between tears, wondering how in the world Lucas was able to laugh at himself, especially in a moment like that, just to make her feel better.

"You know that's not true, right?" She asked, with concern.

"Of course," Lucas returned her smile. "I'm expected to play college ball and score goals. You're expected to study freaking hard in Yale and be a world class journalist," He leaned in and smiled as he whispered in her ear. "I have high expectations for you, you know?"

Emily broke down with tears and laughter and wrapped her arms around his neck again, desperately in need of comfort. With nothing more than a hug and a few words, Lucas was already making her feel more hopeful that everything was going to work out in the end.

"I'm sorry that I came here so late at night," She used the back of her hands to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Your parents are probably thinking I am crazy,"

"You are," Lucas interrupted her, playfully.

"…and I owe them an apology for ringing the doorbell at this hour," Emily finished, while she gave him a scowl of reprimand for his playful offense.

"You're welcome to barge in here anytime you want," Lucas said with sincerity. " _Mi casa, su casa_ ," He quoted in Spanish, making Emily crack up. "I'm glad you came, though. I am."

"Thank you," Emily felt tension build up as their smiles slowly vanished. Truth was, Lucas' house seemed like the safest place she'd ever been in and for some reason he had come to represent all of that for her: safety, security and comfort. "I should go, though. It's late."

Lucas stood up a fraction of a second after her and stopped her from walking.

"You're not going anywhere," He said with authority. "It's midnight, it's freezing outside and you don't even have a car…" He analyzed what had happened for the first time and his expression changed immediately. "Did you take the bus here?!" The teenager asked with concern.

Emily shrugged, dismissing the importance of that.

"It's the only place I could think of going to," She confessed.

Lucas let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, feeling deeply moved by her predicament. He hated that her family was unsupportive and selfish, because he thought Emily deserved the best things the world had to offer. If her own family couldn't give her what she deserved, he was determined to.

"You'll stay in my room," He informed her, guiding her to the upper floor. "Don't worry, I can crash with Tom," He added, noticing the frown on her face.

The minute they stepped foot into Lucas' room, he grabbed a pair of clean sweats and a comfortable shirt.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything smaller," He noticed. "I can probably ask my mom for some clothes, though."

"No, don't bother," Emily promptly took the clothes from his hand. She didn't want to be a burden and bother Lucas' parents any more than she already had. "Are you sure your parents are okay with me being here?"

"Of course," Lucas insisted. He hadn't talked to his parents yet but he was absolutely sure they would never send Emily away in those conditions. "Here is the bathroom," He led Emily there and grabbed a clean towel from the cabinet under the sink. "You shower and get warm. I'll handle the rest," The boy added, giving her one last reassuring smile before he left the bathroom, closing the door after him.

While Emily took a shower, Lucas went to his parents' room, seeing they were both awake waiting for him to explain the situation. The seventeen year old quickly obliged, sharing more details about Emily's life that his parents hadn't known about.

Lucas noticed how his mother was particularly touched when he mentioned Emily's father was an alcoholic. The boy knew his mother also suffered from the same illness, so he could see how it took a toll on her to hear that a teenager was suffering mental abuse partially because of her father's addiction.

"She should stay, of course she should," Amelia agreed, unconsciously taking her hand to the stone hanging on her neck and squeezing it tightly. Owen noticed how distressed his wife looked and he took charge of the situation.

"Luke, do her parents know she's here? I understand she doesn't want to go back home now, but they can't be wondering where she is all night." The surgeon added.

"I'll make sure she calls or texts them to let them know," Lucas nodded in agreement. "Did you know she got into Yale, mom?" He shared, unable to hide a proud smile. "If I got into Yale you guys would probably burn down the house in celebration but her own parents give her no encouragement…" He shook his head, unable to believe that. "How is that fair?"

"It's not," Amelia took a step in her son's direction, seeing how distressed he was by Emily's situation and feeling proud at how decent and good Lucas was. "But don't feel guilty about what you have, because it's not your or Emily's fault that her family isn't the same," She held Lucas' face between her hands, looking into his eyes. "Be thankful, not guilty."

Lucas answered with a hug and Amelia knew that that was his way of saying thanks for her comprehension.

"She'll take my bed and I'll sleep in Tommy's room," He informed his parents, getting a kiss on the head from each as he said good night.

"I'm sure things will look better in the morning," Owen wisely said.

"I hope so too," Lucas let out sigh. "Good night, guys."

.

Thomas barely woke up when, minutes later, Lucas pulled the bed underneath his. And the boy was fast asleep when another half an hour later, Lucas got up, leaving the room in silence.

Emily was lying down on the bed, not quite believing where she'd ended up. She felt a lot better now, after a hot shower and the words of comfort she'd heard from Lucas. Putting up a daily fight against her reality was too exhausting and after so many years in the struggle, Emily was tired. When she found out she'd gotten into the college she'd always hoped to, all she wanted to do was to celebrate. But then, her family had thrown a bucket of ice cold water in her dreams.

Lying there in Lucas' comfortable room made her feel the safest she'd ever felt. The feeling was like no other and Emily was afraid she might get addicted to it. Up until now, the girl had only counted on herself and it scared her to death to think of becoming dependant on anyone, that's the reason why Emily usually pushed people away. But somehow, Lucas had seen through her and little by little, he had managed to climb and overcome the walls she'd so carefully built around herself.

And he was the most amazing person Emily had ever met. She had joined Lucas' school in ninth grade and for the previous three years, Emily had gone through their classes believing Lucas was a clueless jock, with nothing on his mind other than absolute no notion of how lucky he was to have so many possibilities at his disposal. But not only had Lucas proven her wrong, he had also made Emily start to admire him.

When she'd learned Lucas had a learning problem, she expected him to simply quit on everything. It was the obvious choice, considering his parents had a comfortable situation and he probably shouldn't have to worry about his future. But Lucas had surprised her, showing up on time for every tutoring class, applying himself harder at every note she'd given him and using her constructive feedback to improve even more.

In the soccer field, he was a natural leader, being the reference of support and stability for his team. And in her life, Lucas had become the same source of strength and reliability. Emily had slowly grown from despising him, to tolerating him and now fully admiring him. She could feel his presence everywhere in that room, from the medals and trophies to his amazing scent that had been left on the sheets and clothes.

Just a few days before, in that same room, Lucas had told her things that had made Emily feel like her heart was beating out of her chest. He had held her hand and said lines that made Emily feel special for the first time since she could remember. She had struggled, in vain, because once he had broken their kiss, the girl found herself filled with hope that maybe, _maybe_ , she could actually have someone to love and count on. Judging by Lucas' words, that was what he wanted. And if there was one person Emily wanted to share her life with, it was Lucas.

But soon after, he'd fallen asleep. And before Emily could process what all of that had meant, she had found he didn't remember a moment of what had happened. Telling herself it was better that way, Emily had shoved all her feelings aside and ignored them completely, a technique she had come to master during the years.

"Hey," Emily was startled when she heard Lucas' voice in the darkness of the room. "Are you awake?"

The girl gently lifted her neck, feeling her pulse race as he slipped into the room.

"Yes," She whispered back. "What are you doing here?"

Lucas walked up to the bed and without any ceremony, lay down on it next to her.

"I came here to check on you," He intertwined his fingers over his stomach, turning his neck sideways to look at her. "I had to see if you're alright… Do you need to talk?"

"I'm fine," Emily lied. She wasn't fine, but she was definitely feeling a lot better.

Lucas turned to his side and propped his head on one elbow, getting a clear view of her face in the dark room.

"You know, I am really, really happy that you got into college," He smiled, speaking from his heart. "And Yale… You're going to kick ass there, I bet."

"You know," Emily frowned, realizing for the first time what was happening. "You don't seem at all surprised by these news," She rationally analyzed the situation.

Emily had told Lucas about her Yale admission, but he had been high then. If he didn't remember their kiss, it was highly unlikely he would remember the information she'd shared.

"Unless…" She searched for the answer in his eyes and quickly found it. "Oh my God, you remember!" Emily unintentionally raised her voice, reflexively sitting up on the bed.

"Shhh," Lucas tried to distract her from the situation at the same time he prevented her from waking anyone in the house. If his family found out he was there, they could get the wrong idea. "You have to calm down."

"You lied to me!" Emily felt anger growing inside of her, added to embarrassment. Being so close to him on a bed in a dark room when they both were well aware of what had happened the last time they both had been there made her feel weirdly vulnerable.

"I didn't lie to you," Lucas tried to make her feel better, despite knowing he had led her to believe he didn't remember a thing of what had happened between them. "I just… I didn't want you to feel bad."

"Feel bad?" Emily raised an eyebrow, visibly confused.

"I didn't want you to feel like things had to change between us because I said that amount of absurdities to you," For a moment Emily's heart sank. Did he really think the things he'd told her were so absurd? He probably did. Lucas wasn't a romantic, and Emily also hadn't been one. Not until that moment, anyway. "I shouldn't have said those things to you, but I couldn't help it, it's like I had no control over what I was saying or feeling…" Lucas confessed.

"But…" Emily was confused. What did he mean, then? "Did you make that up?" She looked from his mattress to his eyes, thinking she wouldn't bear living with the doubt. She had to know. "All the things you said to me… Were they all just a lie you made up when you were high on painkillers?"

"No!" Lucas promptly confessed. "Of course not," He couldn't break their eye contact, knowing it was necessary to make her realize he wasn't lying. "I meant every word I said… But I know, Emily."

"You know?" The girl asked him, overwhelmed with the amount of information she was getting and all the feelings that were overflowing at every word he spoke.

"You're going to Yale…" Lucas listed, talking uncharacteristically seriously. "I'm probably sticking around and playing soccer… You have a bright future ahead of you and I…" He played with a loose thread on the cover of the bed. "I will probably still be playing soccer. My life won't change as much as yours. You deserve a clean slate."

"But…" Emily was trying to figure it all out. "But if you meant all those things, why did you feel like you had to pretend you didn't remember anything?" She upfront asked. "Were you ashamed?"

"I was ashamed," Lucas confessed. "Of me."

"Of you?" Emily tilted her head to look straight into his eyes. "Why would you be ashamed? What you said to me, Lucas…" The girl didn't realize that for the first time she'd treated him with the intimacy of his first name. "If you mean all of that, then…" Emily struggled, trying to figure out what he was feeling.

"Yes?" Lucas felt his heart racing at the idea she might have actually liked to hear his confession.

"Do you like me?" She asked, unsure of how to phrase that.

"It hurts to imagine my life without you in it," Lucas confessed, trying to explain in the best way he knew how.

Emily smiled and slowly lied down on the bed again, turning to face him.

"Lucas," She whispering, loving the taste of his name on her lips. "What does that mean?" Emily asked, unable to stop being the careful planner she usually was. "For us? What does that mean for us?"

The boy looked into her eyes and once he realized the expectation that was on them, he smiled tenderly at her.

"I think it means you're staying in my life, then," He stated, with a heartily smile. "If you want to, of course."

"I want to," Emily assured him.

"I probably will drive you crazy," Lucas warned her with a hopeful smile, making sure she knew exactly what she was getting into.

"You already do," Emily leaned in and held him, feeling Lucas' strong grip around her back.

"Does this mean you're my girlfriend now?" He straightforwardly asked her. Lucas had never liked a girl enough to want to be with her on the long run. But Emily made him feel entirely different.

"Am I?" Emily left the decision up to him.

"Do you want to be?"

"Yes," Emily admitted with a smile she couldn't contain.

"Does that mean I can kiss you anytime I want?"

"Lucas!"

"We're on the first name basis!" He realized, smiling mischievously at her. "Maybe we can go to second base, now," He suggest with a dirty grin.

"Maybe you can go back to your own bed," Emily cut him off, smiling to herself.

"I _am_ in my own bed," He reminded her.

"Maybe I should go, then." Emily suggested but Lucas quickly held her motionless, keeping the girl firmly laid on the mattress.

"You're not going anywhere," The boy informed her and kissed her head gently. "You're staying right here."

"I am," Emily replied, satisfied. She was feeling safer than ever now.

Before she could add any more words, Lucas bent over and gently kissed her. Slowly, his lips seduced hers, making Emily open her mouth before she could realize it. When his tongue touched hers, Emily felt like her entire body was bursting with new emotions.

"I should probably go back now," Lucas realized, knowing his teenage body was already responding to that intimate kiss. "My parents will think it's disrespectful if they find me here."

"They're probably right," Emily agreed, knowing she wouldn't feel comfortable at all to be found in Lucas' company in his own bed. "Well, I guess this is good night, then."

"Unfortunately," Lucas rolled his eyes, already making his way out of bed.

Emily laughed and watched him go with a smile on her lips. That evening had started out as the worst of her life, but it certainly had ended much better than she could have possibly imagined, even in her wildest dreams.

.

The following four months were the best of Emily's life. She didn't remember ever being so happy. Pretty much every day she would see Lucas after school and often she would go have dinner with his family. Little by little, she fell in love with his little sister Megan, his amazing parents and adorable brothers. Emily had even developed a close bond with Kate and after only a few weekends with the Hunts, she was completely immersed in a universe filled with love and laughter that had always been unknown to her.

But then, a few weeks before the beginning of summer, Lucas got a letter that changed his life completely.

"Oh my God!" Emily felt tears forming in her eyes. "Lucas!" She cheerfully wrapped her arms around his neck, almost knocking him over, "Lucas, you got into UW!"

Lucas saw the happiness in her eyes and stood frozen for long seconds, unable to believe what had happened. He was actually going to college. And not just _any_ college. He had been accepted to the University of Washington. It wasn't as fancy as the Ivy League schools, but it was still very prestigious and well ranked. And Lucas knew they had an amazing sports program.

"I'm going to play college soccer," He smiled from ear to ear, still unable to believe it.

"You will!" Emily smiled widely too, looking into his eyes as they slowly pulled apart.

They stared into each other's eyes for long seconds and soon after Lucas hugged her again, still feeling like he was walking on clouds.

"You know what this means, right?" After the thrill of the moment was gone, Emily sat down next to him on the living room couch of his house. They had talked about that moment more than once, but up until now, all they had were possibilities. They already knew Emily had gotten admitted to Yale, but Lucas' future had been out in the open, up until now. Even though Lucas hadn't applied to many schools in the east coast, the girl still hoped that somehow he could go study somewhere close to her.

"It means we'll be in complete opposite ends of the country," Lucas realized, feeling some of the blissful excitement give room to a feeling of emptiness. He and Emily had discussed that possibility over and over, never really reaching a conclusion or making a decision.

"Yes," Emily agreed, somberly. She had avoided considering the very likely possibility that she wouldn't have Lucas or his family by her side every day anymore because it hurt too much to even think about that.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Lucas shrugged, unwilling to accept that they were going to be apart. "I mean, I could still get into another program…"

"Lucas," Emily took a deep breath, feeling her throat constrict. "Would you ask me to give up Yale for you?" She saw the answer in his eyes. "Exactly. I wouldn't ask that of you either, ever," She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his arm wrapping around her body. "UW has an amazing program and you'll be so close to home. It's really the best option for you."

"But…"

"No," Emily stopped him, before he said something absurd that she might agree with. Gently, she lifted her eyes to meet his, seeing the anguish behind all the blue. "You're going to go there. And you'll be very happy."

"But, Emily, I'll be across the country from you," Lucas complained. How would he deal with that? He couldn't begin to imagine his life without Emily in it anymore. Lucas let out a heavy sigh, trying to think of any possibility that might make them feel better.

"And you'll be fine," The girl said, trying to believe that herself. Long distance relationships never worked and they weren't yet eighteen years old. It was unfair to demand that they committed to each other in such a young age. Lucas should make the most of his college experience and so should she. "You'll see me in holidays and vacations," She couldn't help tearing up, imagining how painful being apart from him would be. "And we'll call each other, talk, I don't know…"

"But what if you meet someone and fall in love with him?" Lucas childishly asked, hating to think of that possibility. "What if you forget about me?"

"How could I ever forget about you?" Emily asked, frowning.

"You're going to Yale and you'll be fancy and you'll forget about me," Lucas complained, scowling, visibly distressed.

Emily laughed, even though her heart was aching. She leaned over and kissed his lips gently, trying to comfort him at the same time she struggled with his own emotions. It was hard to identify what she was feeling.

At the same time, Emily was thrilled for Lucas getting into college, happy and proud of herself for going to Yale, hopeful that whatever they had built between them would last and absolutely heartbroken that they would be so far apart. She didn't want to be away from him but also she didn't want to hold him to a relationship they couldn't develop.

"I'm coming back one day," She informed him, absolutely sure of what she was saying. "And when I do, if you're still here, we can start all over…"

"Why do we have to end it?" Lucas cried out loud, guilty that he was hating to be admitted to college if that meant he and Emily had to break things off. "Why can't we just give it a try?"

"Because," Emily said wisely. "You'll be fine for the first month. Everything will be new and exciting. And so will I. But then, when life starts to settle and you realize how much you're missing out on because you have a girlfriend, you'll start to resent me," The girl could see all of that happening. "And I'll resent that you're not there to share all the experiences with me. So we won't get to enjoy the best of being single in college, but also we won't get to enjoy the best of being in a relationship, because we're rarely going to be there," Emily concluded, seeing how Lucas' face was transforming as he slowly realized everything she was saying was true.

Lucas took a deep breath, letting the new information sink in. Unlike his brother Thomas and Kate, who were both probably going off to the same college, he and Emily wouldn't have time to devote to each other. He would be busy catching up school, especially without a tutor. And the soccer practices were definitely going to demand a lot of his time. Emily, on the other hand, was probably going to be totally caught up with journalism school and probably a job.

"So, what now?" Lucas slowly directed his gaze at her, feeling his heart breaking into a thousand pieces. "We're not leaving for another two months. What do we do until then?"

"Now," Emily got up and held him. "We make the most of the time we still have left."

Starting only a few hours later, Lucas understood what Emily meant. Together, they told his parents about the letter he'd gotten from UW, and never in his life had Lucas seen his parents look so happy or so proud. And when the date of Lucas' eighteenth birthday arrived, Emily made it more memorable by choosing Lucas to be her first in a night he would never forget in his whole life.

.

"Hey, buddy," Owen knocked on Lucas' door gently, even though it was opened. He waited until his son took his eyes from the open luggage on the bed to stare back at his father before walking in. "How is the packing going?"

Lucas let out a frustrated sigh, putting both hands on his hips as a look of defeat was stamped on his face.

"I have no idea what to take," Lucas confessed. "I mean, I don't really need much, right?"

Earlier that month, Lucas had gone with both his parents and his little sister to meet the facilities of the University of Washington. Megan had quickly decided everything Lucas should get for his dorm and later on she had helped him chose the items. But Lucas was leaving soon and he had to yet pack his personal belongings.

"I'm probably going to pledge to a house while I'm there," Lucas said, unsurprisingly. Owen thought he would fit very well in a fraternity house.

"You should be excited about this," Owen squeezed his shoulder, supportively. "You're going off to college! You should be thrilled."

"I am," Lucas said, without any excitement.

"Is this about Emily?" Owen asked, reading into his son's eyes. Lucas embarrassingly confirmed it with a head nod and Owen took a deep breath, thinking of what to say that might bring his son any kind of comfort. He knew about the decision Lucas and Emily had taken and quite frankly, he thought they were being very wise. He suspected the decision had been made much more by the girl than his son. "You know," Owen looked to the floor, looking for inspiration. "I was married once before mom."

"Yeah," Lucas sat down on his bed next to his father, wondering why in the world he was talking about that. "I know that."

"You do," Owen agreed looking straight into his eyes. "And when I divorced her, I thought my entire world was going to collapse. I felt hopeless, like I'd never be happy again," He added, seeing in Lucas' eyes that his son could identify with that. "But I survived."

"Dad, why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I went through hell but then something amazing happened," Owen smiled encouragingly. "I know it's different for you and Emily because you two would like to still be together but what I'm trying to say is that sometimes we need to be with other people to figure out what it is that we really want," The surgeon said with honesty. "I was married to my first wife for years and even though I was put through hell during it, it was necessary for me to realize what was my truest desire. For me to know myself," Owen added, trying to share some of his experience with Lucas. "I didn't get back together with her because we were not compatible and I had to learn that the hard way in order to accept it and move on from it." Owen smiled, seeing Lucas was starting to follow what he was saying. "I was in a dark place for a very long time but then I met mom and little by little, she showed me she was everything I wanted," Owen said, smiling at the mention of his wife. "Maybe, if I hadn't been through hell before her, I wouldn't be able to identify just how much I wanted her." He took a few seconds to let the information sink in on Lucas' mind. "Just think of how much I'd be missing on," Owen smiled tenderly at his son.

"But what if Emily is what I want?" Lucas asked, heartbroken. "She is exactly what I want, dad."

"I'm not saying she isn't," Owen smiled fondly, trying to make Lucas regain some hope. "I'm saying that, maybe you need to go on a different path than her so you can meet at the same place later in the future. What you need to go through to figure yourself out is not necessarily the same as she." Owen concluded, wisely. Even though it was adorable how in love Lucas and Emily were, they were too young and had their entire lives ahead of them.

"But…" Lucas struggled, knowing his father was probably right but hating to admit it, because if he did, it would mean he would have to accept that he and Emily were no longer in a relationship. "I really love her, dad. I want to be there for her."

"And you should," Owen advised. "You know…" He chuckled with a smile on his face, being assaulted by memories. "Did I ever tell you about the day you were born?" Lucas frowned, trying to remember if he had ever heard about it, but since he couldn't think of what to say, his father resumed, "It was the happiest day of my life," Owen confessed with honesty, recalling the exact events of that day. "It was also the scariest one." Owen looked around, slowly nodding his head in denial as the memories of that day came back to him. "I love you and your siblings all the same, but your birth will have to be more special because the day you were born was the day I became a father," Owen admitted, not realizing how important that information was for Lucas. "You were a very big and fat newborn and your mom nearly couldn't pass you," Owen scowled at that memory. "At some point I thought I'd lose you both and I knew I wouldn't survive that loss… But then, when I least expected it, you finally came out and when I heard you crying your lungs out, my first reaction was to cry too."

Lucas looked sideways at his dad, seeing how emotional he had become at the memories.

"Mom has said several times that my delivery was even worse than delivering the twins," Lucas recalled, with a sad smile.

"Yes," Owen confirmed it. "Even to agree on having a baby mom and I butted heads," Owen could easily describe that too. "We had this huge fight one night when she told me she didn't want kids," The surgeon remembered with painful regret. "I flipped and she freaked out. For a while I thought that was the end for us," Owen confessed. "But then we worked on our issues and once again, she surprised me asking me to have a family with her. There was a lot of fights before we got married and before we had you but then you were born and suddenly everything was worth it," He placed his hand on the back of Lucas' head and looked straight into his eyes. " _You_ made our lives so much better," Owen said with honesty. "Then one by one your brothers and Meg joined the party and added to the happiness but it was you who lead the way," He looked deeply into his son's eyes. "And I wouldn't change a thing about you, buddy. I am the proudest I could ever be."

Lucas couldn't think of what to say. He was absolutely grateful for the amazing loving parents he had and he only hoped he one day could be as much of a man as his father was.

"I want to be better, dad," Lucas said, still sad about Emily but for the first time since they'd decided to break up at their departures for college he was feeling a little hopeful. "I _will_ be better."

"Even though you're good enough already," Owen said with a proud smile, seeing his son was starting to get the bigger picture. "There is always room for improvement."

"I want to be the best I can be," Lucas said with ambition, meaning all aspects of his life.

"I have no doubt you will," Owen said, honestly.

"I'm going to miss you, dad," Lucas looked into his eyes. "What am I going to do when I need your advice?"

"You can come visit," Owen suggested, loving the idea. "This will always be your house and it's a short drive."

"A drive?" Lucas' eyes sparkled with confusion, watching as his dad put his hand in his pocket and took it back, wiggling between his fingers what looked very much like a car key. "No way, dad!" The boy stood up with disbelief. "A car?! Are you serious?"

All Owen could do was smile, satisfied that his son was apparently thrilled about the present and the surprise. He loved that boy with all his heart.

"Happy eighteenth birthday, Luke."

.

"So," Owen approached Amelia from behind as she finished putting on her eyeliner. "Big day today. Are you nervous?"

Amelia let out a heavy sigh, feeling her husband's arms wrapping around her waist from behind.

"I am," She confessed. "It's not every day that your first born goes off to college."

"He's going to be okay," Owen said, remembering the conversation he'd had with Lucas earlier that same week. "He's ready for this."

Amelia agreed with a sad smile. She placed one arm on top of his and pulled him closer, looking at her husband through their reflection on the mirror.

"You know what I was thinking…" Amelia started, hesitantly. "We're going to drive Emily to the airport, right?" Owen nodded yes with his head. Over the last months, they had unconsciously taken Emily under their wings, given how neglected she was by her family. Both really liked her and admired her drive and potential. "She really has helped Lucas so much," Amelia said. "She is a good person and deserved better. I wish I could help her somehow."

"You are," Owen reassured her. "You are doing everything that's in our power to do," He added, with a proud smile. Owen had noticed how Amelia had become a sort of role model for Emily.

"I keep thinking that maybe, _maybe_ if her father wasn't an alcoholic, she'd be better off, you know?" Amelia turned around in his arms, taking her hands to the sides of his face. "And I can't help but wonder what if that had been me?"

Owen frowned, confused as to what exactly she was asking.

"That could have been me," Amelia affirmed, with conviction. "Ever since I married you, I've never relapsed again, ever," She stated, feeling blessed. "Even in our worst times, I managed to refrain myself from it. But I keep thinking you know, what if I had, at some point? What would it cause to us, to the kids…? It makes me cringe to even think about how easily it could destroy our family and…"

"Amelia," Owen interrupted her, leaning over to level his eyes with hers. "What is your point here, exactly?" He asked with a tender smile, unable to watch her torturing herself any longer.

"My point is that everything is too fragile," She confessed. "And that in a minute, everything can change." She realized, recalling the many turning points in their lives over the long years they'd been together. "I don't want things to change."

Owen held her hands between their bodies and looked lovingly into her eyes. Amelia's fast thinking could really get ahead of her sometimes but he'd mastered how to deal with her brilliance over the years.

"Things _will_ change," He said, with reassurance, touching his forehead to hers, affectionately. "A lot of twists will happen and sometimes, we'll be taken by surprise." He predicted. "But whatever it is, we'll face it because the important things will never change." Owen looked suggestively into her eyes, seeing her face light up.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye." Amelia confessed, sheepishly.

"It's not goodbye," Owen reminded her, holding one of the loves of his life in his arms. "It's a see you soon."

.

Emily walked into the airplane, fighting hard to control the tear that insisted on rolling to her cheek. Saying goodbye to Lucas was the hardest thing she'd ever endured in life. Even harder than saying goodbye to both her parents at home, seeing how much they expected her to fail.

But Lucas had stood there in the airport lobby, holding her hand until the very last minute. And when they'd finally parted ways, he'd given her a white envelope instructing the girl not to open it until she was in the air, before swiftly leaving with his parents.

The girl waited until the plane had taken off, starting her journey to New Haven and the prestigious Yale University to finally open the envelope. Even though she and Lucas had left each other in good terms, she knew she would have the hardest time stopping herself from begging him to reconsider everything she had said and take her in as his girlfriend again. But as she slowly read Lucas' handwriting, she was sure they'd made the right decision.

 _Dear Emily,_

 _At this point you know me too well to understand how much I like to get away with things by saying how hard it is for me to write or read. And by that I mean every essay or school work I've ever been assigned. But this right here is the hardest thing I've ever had to write. And since I'm not that good with words, I think it's simpler if I just say it._

 _I fell in love with someone._

 _She's gorgeous, has the most beautiful auburn hair and is the most annoyingly perfectionist. I didn't plan on meeting her, but suddenly I was in a Spanish classroom and I could feel myself falling in love with the first threat she made to me. And this girl really led me to believe I could actually be good enough for her._

 _She is you, Emily._

 _The past year has been the most important of my life and not just because everything around me has changed, but mostly because I did too. Slowly, as I found out just how capable of taking control of my life I really am, my world turned out to be so much better. And none of that would have happened if it weren't for you. You've helped me turn into someone I can actually feel proud of and for that, I'll forever be grateful. And I wish I could be with you forever. That's the happy part._

 _The sad part is that I don't know how to be with you right now and that realization scares me to death. I have this feeling in my heart that you might be the best thing that will ever happen to me and I'm afraid we'll miss out on our chance to be something great together. But if there is one thing you taught me is that in order to deal with fear, we just have to keep going and that's exactly what I plan on doing. And since we can't be amazing as two, I'll try to focus on becoming amazing as one._

 _So you go and be great in Yale. I'll go my own way and who knows, maybe in a few years we'll find ourselves across each other in an interview room table. Or maybe, I'll come back from signing with a pro team and you're going to be there to celebrate it with me. Truth is, I have no idea what the future holds for us and that's scary. All I know is that you're going to achieve everything you've ever wanted. And if you ever, ever feel like you've running out of strength, no matter where in the world you are, just look back to Seattle and know that you'll always have a home to come back to._

 _Because I'll be your home. For as long as you want me to be._

 _Faithfully, devotedly and undeniably yours,_

 _Lucas Hunt._

Emily saw a teardrop wetting the paper as she finished reading the letter, promptly holding it closely to her heart. Only a few minutes later when she finally decided to read it again, she noticed Lucas' handwriting at the end of the page:

 _PS – You thought Yale's acceptance letter was the best you've ever gotten but I guess this one tops it, huh? How does it feel to be wrong for a change? I bet it sucks. But I love you. You can hold onto that._

The passenger next to her gave the girl a puzzled glance as Emily burst out in laughter and tears, devotedly holding that little piece of Lucas she knew she would keep forever. Emily wasn't alone in the world anymore because as Lucas had said himself, no matter where in the world they both were, she would always have a home to go back to.

.

"Will you call me every day?" Megan pouted, feeling like she was about to cry at the idea of her brother leaving.

"Every day," Lucas promised with a sad smile, closing the trunk of his new car.

"And you'll come home every weekend, right?" Megan sheepishly added, on the verge of tears.

"Isn't that supposed to be mom's line?" Thomas asked, with his hands in his pockets, watching as his oldest brother finished getting ready to leave.

"Are you sure you don't want us to drive you there?" Amelia asked for the tenth time that day. "It's not a long drive, Luke, we can all go and…"

"It's fine, mom," Lucas interrupted her, giving her a hug before his mother could again try to change their arrangement.

"I'm going to miss you," Amelia confessed, unable to let go of him. That was one of the happiest days of her life, but also, one of the saddest.

"You won't even notice I'm gone," Lucas tried to cheer her up, looking from his mother to his twin brothers. "Rob and Dan will make sure to keep you busy and worried on the days I'm not here."

The two boys gave their oldest brother a smile filled with mischief and gathered around to prepare for one final hug before Lucas finally left.

"Where is Kate?" Lucas asked Thomas, seeing his brother immediately smile at the mention of the girl. Now that they were officially a couple, Kate and Thomas seemed to always be together.

"I'm going to catch up with her later," Thomas confessed, taking one step forward. Never in his sixteen years of life he'd spend more than a few days without his brother and it also took a toll on him to think Lucas was actually moving out of the house. "You're going to be great in college," The boy smiled with encouragement. "I'll be there to watch all of your games."

"Save me the first row seat," Megan cried out loud, wrapping her arms around Lucas' waist. "Can't you stay a little longer? It's not fair that you have to go so soon."

"Megan, how is it soon?" Owen asked, unable to hold a sympathetic smile. "His classes start in a couple of days and he has to settle in."

"But it's too soon for me to be without him," Megan complained.

"You have three other brothers you can pester," Owen reminded her.

"But Luke is my favorite," Megan childishly cried, making Lucas bend over to give her a hug while Thomas, Danny and Robbie rolled their eyes.

"You told me this morning I was your favorite," Danny looked at her, offended.

"You are!" Megan said with seeming honesty and then buried her face on Lucas' stomach again.

Danny opened his hands and nodded his head in denial, as if giving up trying to understand Megan. Amelia joined in on the embrace and soon after, Lucas found himself in the middle of a collective hug, as six pairs of arms involved him tightly.

After they saw Lucas finally drive off, Amelia watched as in less than a minute, everything went back to normal. Peanut came running towards her children, barking invitingly at them. Thomas complained and ran after Robbie when the youngest boy furtively stole his phone, hurrying to the inside of the house in clear provocation. As Danny went to take the dog back to the backyard, Megan mumbled something about inviting Claire over to forget about Lucas' departure.

And in a matter of minutes, Amelia found herself standing alone with only Owen by her side. She smiled at him, thinking about that had been exactly how they'd first started: Just the two of them.

"How are you feeling?" She asked her husband, looking passionately at him.

"Like I just lost a part of me," Owen confessed, breathing in and out to get over his feelings. "Naa, he'll be okay," He shrugged, knowing Lucas would love college.

"How are we going to do this four more times?" Amelia asked, widening her eyes in shock. "Oh, God…" She rubbed the sides of her scalp, feeling a throbbing headache settling in. "We're so screwed, Owen… This is the part they never tell you about," Amelia rambled, in her typical manner. "They tell you about how your life completely turns upside down when you have a kid and the sleepless nights when they're sick but no one tells you how you lose a piece of your heart when they leave."

"Well, good thing you have a big heart," Owen teased her, kissing her head before he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, playfully bringing her towards him. "I'm just kidding, babe," He saw the anguish in her eyes and tried to distract her, thinking his wife would get used to not having Lucas around as often much sooner than she could imagine.

As Amelia walked into the house with her husband, suddenly she was distracted by her four other children. Even though that evening it had felt like she was losing Lucas, Amelia knew that wasn't true. Days later, when routine finally started to settle in, she would still miss in all the same, but without that feeling of mourning in her heart. Instead, Amelia would be filled with hope and new expectations. She couldn't wait for that part.

"I guess this was the hardest goodbye I've ever been through," Owen confessed as he lay on their bed later that day, watching as Amelia finished her bedtime routine. "And I'm a guy who's deployed several times."

"I know exactly what you mean," Amelia replied, putting her lotion back on the shelf. "Except for one thing, though," She smiled as she made her familiar way from the bottom of the bed straight into his arms. "It was not a goodbye, babe. It was a see you soon," Amelia repeated the words he'd once used.

Owen chuckled, amazed by how easily she could still make him laugh, even after so many years.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you've said," Amelia confessed. "And it really has helped me," She added, with a loving smile directed at her husband. "I'm not so afraid of changes anymore."

"You aren't?" Owen furrowed one eyebrow, obviously doubting her.

"I'm not," She smiled, tracing his jaw line with her index finger. Amelia loved what life had reserved for Owen and her. Their love for each other and for their children was deeply rooted in their lives and in that house. Even though it was hard to adapt to the new situations sometimes, she knew that ultimately they would be fine because Amelia had six people in the world she loved more than anything. And despite the fact their oldest son was flying solo now, their close relationship with him would always remain the same. "Because if we have already established how important it is to keep moving to grow," She remembered him, kissing his lips. "As you said yourself, we can't forget to be thankful for the things that never change," Amelia affirmed, absolutely sure of what she was saying.

"Yeah?" Owen smiled with pride, seeing she had reached the same conclusion as him. "Like what, for example?"

"Like… I love you," Amelia touched her lips to his, smiling at their contact. Slowly, she broke apart looking into his eyes with a loving expression. "That will never, ever change."

Amelia lay her head again on Owen's chest, rejoicing at the sound of his steady heartbeats. There were a lot of uncertainties in life and she knew she would have to deal with them as they came. But Amelia also knew that, for as long as she had Owen by her side, together they could get through anything.

"Oh, really?" Owen returned her smile, wrapping one arm around her, instantly splaying his open palm on her back beneath her shirt. "That's something I never grow tired of hearing."

"I love you," Amelia repeated, seeing his eyes lighting up as a smile formed on his lips when he heard her confession.

Owen looked at her, amazed by her beauty, enchanted by her devotion and absolutely in love with everything she was.

"Hey babe," He asked for her attention again when Amelia was nearly asleep in his arms. "Do you remember when you told me you didn't want kids?"

"Huh?" Amelia frowned, confused. She had nearly fallen asleep and now she struggled to pay attention to what he was talking about. "I've always wanted kids."

"Yes, I know," He smiled, clarifying, "but soon after we got married, we had this huge fight about getting pregnant because you were afraid of going through another loss, remember?" Owen raised his eyebrows in question, watching as Amelia slowly recalled her fears and insecurities. "That was almost it for us."

"Yeah…" Amelia was assaulted by memories of their heated discussion that had ended with her shouting to his face she didn't want to have babies. Owen had been heartbroken and she'd left. They hadn't seen each other for days until she hadn't been able to bear the weight of her secrets any longer and had looked for him to finally share the details of her traumatic experience during her first pregnancy. She would never forget how Owen had held her and comforted her back then, and how she had been insecure and stupid to think he would act in any other way. That had been the first step for them to really start their lives together and she didn't regret one single decision they'd taken during that long bumpy road that was marriage. "Why are you bringing this up just now?" She asked, curious.

"I was telling this story to Luke the other day," Owen confessed. "He was so unmotivated and I wanted to let him know that sometimes, even though it feels we've hit rock bottom and nothing seems like it's going to work out again, somehow, we always find a way…" More memories assaulted Owen as he continued. "I mean, having a family has always been my biggest dream and you know I've always wanted to be a dad," His hand traveled to her face as Owen slowly caressed her cheek, affectionately. "But having a family isn't just about having kids," He shared, proudly looking at her. "It's also having someone to share your everything with," Owen leaned in and kissed her, slowly savoring her lips. "For too long I thought it wouldn't come true," Owen confessed, strangely emotional. "But then I found you."

Amelia smiled at him, proud of how far they'd come.

"It's very sweet of you to share your own experience to help encourage our son," She commented, with a proud smile. "I know he hasn't had it easy and I'm sure it meant everything to him to hear this from you," Amelia said, meaning every word. "He looks up to you so much, babe," She added, knowing it was completely true. "You're often saying how I've given you everything you've always wanted that sometimes it gets lost in this mix how much _you_ have given me too," She tenderly touched him with her right hand, running her fingers through his hair in a caressing manner. "You make me very, very happy," Amelia smiled with her eyes, before gently leaning over and giving him a peck on the lips.

"I love this," Owen said, rejoicing in her words and intentions. He really was the most fulfilled he could ever hope to be. And hearing that Amelia felt the same was the best thing that could have happened to him that evening. "But I don't think that kiss you just gave me lives up to the full extension of your happiness," Owen raised an eyebrow, obviously tempting her. "How about we work on that?"

"You mean I should give it another try?" Amelia playfully joined him in the banter. She watched as he nodded affirmatively with his head and slowly leaned over, brushing her lips more eagerly on his this time. "Better?"

"Yes," Owen approved, closing his eyes. A mischievous smile still lingered on his lips and the dirty look on his face made Amelia want to laugh. "But I think you can do even better."

Amelia waited until he was filled with anticipation and when Owen least expected it, she slowly caressed the sides of his face with her fingers, leaning over to capture his mouth in a sweet, loving kiss. As she played with his lips between hers, gently pulling and nipping, Amelia felt him slowly open his mouth, allowing her more intimate their tongues met, she felt the familiar sensation of Owen's body against hers, stimulating her with the full force of his desire.

"Was that a kiss worthy of so many years of happiness?" She playfully asked him.

"Yes," Owen admitted but then he rolled over to her top, trapping Amelia inside his embrace. "But you see, the best thing about change, babe," He kissed her again, this time stealing all the air from around her, "is that even though we fight it, avoid it and deny it in fear you're going to get disappointed," Owen reinforced it, kissing Amelia at the end of each sentence, "Sometimes, in the process, you may meet someone and realize later that she's your _everything_ ," Owen repeated, seeing her face light up at his comment. "And then suddenly, you find yourself realizing that even though you've changed, you've changed for the better."

Amelia smiled against his lips, unable to take her eyes off him. She couldn't begin to describe how much she loved him.

"And you, babe," Owen grinned, before kissing her again. When Amelia smiled at him like that, it meant that everything in the world was in its proper place. He loved more than anything to see her happy. The more time he spent with his wife, the more certain Owen was about his he'd started a relationship with his wife, he had been a completely different man. Amelia had walked into his life and transformed it completely, but only for the better. And it was only fair that she heard it, as many times as he could say it. Smiling into her eyes, Owen declared with every fiber of honesty and love that he had in his heart before gently leaning over to kiss her, "You were the best change that has ever happened to me."

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That's it! Thank you guys for sticking with MBBF all the way to the end!

This multi chapter is over but that doesn't mean I will have to stop writing for this universe. You guys can find me on twitter and tumblr ( both jordan202) and send me prompts in any timeline of the universe. I usually pick the ones that I think are more fitting to the story.

Once again, thank you all for the continued support. I'd love to hear your take and see you on the next story!


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